SPRING 2020
OPENING COMMENTS
From the Head of School
THE MAGAZINE OF WILLIAM PENN CHARTER SCHOOL
Darryl J. Ford Hon. 1689 Head of School Elizabeth A. Glascott Hon. 1689 Assistant Head of School Jeffrey A. Reinhold Clerk, Overseers John T. Rogers Hon. 1689 Chief Development Officer Rob Frieman OPC ’87 Alumni Society President
MAGAZINE STAFF Sharon Sexton Editor Rebecca Luzi Associate Editor
SINCE THE CLOSING OF SCHOOL IN MARCH due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I have experienced more than a fair share of cognitive dissonance. Perhaps, you have, too. This spring has been one of the most glorious I remember on School House Lane. The campus is resplendent with cherry blossoms, which seem to have lasted longer than ever, even with a good dose of rain; the azaleas are vibrant; and I have seen more colorful birds around East Falls and on our grounds than I ever recall. Yet, with all this beauty, the deadly coronavirus has upended plans, milestones and life for us all. This does not match up. In similar fashion, I work each day from the sunroom of my house, looking beyond my yard onto the campus and at the buildings in which we educate students. Yet, students aren’t there; nor are the teachers and support staff. Our community that routinely gathers together is separated, dispersed into hundreds of homes; students are learning remotely, and faculty are teaching from a distance. Conceptually, none of this adds up. I look at our buildings daily, hoping for a glimpse inside and to see students learning, but no one is there. In this edition of Penn Charter magazine, I hope we have given you a window into the life of our school—a glimpse of our past history and material culture that helped to shape what we have become, a glimpse of students, pre-pandemic, engaged on campus in the usual and vast array of educational experiences. Briefly and on deadline, we also provided examples of the distance learning in which we are now engaged and which may become a larger part of the future of education here and across the globe. I made the intentional decision to print this edition of Penn Charter magazine because it is my hope that it will serve to connect the Penn Charter community during this worldwide pandemic. PC publications were printed during both World Wars, the Spanish flu epidemic, and even during the American Revolution. On page 23 of this issue, read how the Students Gazette, the first known effort of student journalism in the country, reported in 1777 about the occupation of our school by British forces. I do ask that you update your email address with us because future publications may need to be produced online as we evaluate all that we do during this brave new world. If you are not certain that we have it, please email your contact information to Blanca Womack at bwomack@penncharter.com. In the meantime, I hope that the stories and images in this magazine provide some familiar comfort to each of you and an antidote to the cognitive dissonance that we all may be feeling. Holding each of you, our nation, and the world in the Light, I remain,
Julia Judson-Rea Assistant Editor Michael Branscom Feature Photography Proof Design Studios Design William Penn Charter School 3000 West School House Lane Philadelphia, PA 19144 215.844.3460
www.penncharter.com Penn Charter is the magazine of William Penn Charter School. It is published by the Marketing Communications Office and distributed to alumni, parents and friends of the school. In addition to providing alumni updates about classmates, reunions and events, the magazine focuses on the people, the programs and the ideas that energize our school community.
Follow Penn Charter at your favorite social media sites: FACEBOOK facebook.com/penncharter TWITTER @PennCharter YOUTUBE youtube.com/pennchartertube INSTAGRAM @PennCharter FLICKR flickr.com/penncharter/sets
Sincerely yours,
arryl J. Ford Hon. 1689 D Head of School
PLEASE RECYCLE THIS MAGAZINE
Contents SPRING 2020
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FEATURES
2 Learning to Learn Remotely
Teachers and students take a leap into a new way to teach and learn. In the span of mere weeks, Penn Charter faculty have made a crucial switch to distance learning.
14 Penn Charter History Revealed in 20 Objects
These treasured objects, featured in the book History Revealed: Treasures from the Archives of William Penn Charter School, celebrate the history of the school founded by William Penn and the Religious Society of Friends.
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48 Essential to Us All While their children are home learning remotely, hundreds of PC parents are on the front lines of the pandemic.
DEPARTMENTS OPENING COMMENTS
From the Head of School....................................... Inside Front Cover AROUND CAMPUS
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Campus Currents...................................................................................................4 Faculty News............................................................................................................9 Athletic Achievements..................................................................................... 10 ALUMNI
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PC Profiles Elias Tanner OPC ’08......................................................................................12 Sierra Tishgart OPC ’08.................................................................................13 Downtown Reception 2020.......................................................................... 28 Athletic Honor Society 2019........................................................................ 30 Then & Now...........................................................................................................34 Class Notes............................................................................................................. 35 ON THE COVER SPRING 2019
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Objects, artifacts and memorabilia reveal Penn Charter's story. Preview our award-winning history book. Page 14.
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STRATEGIC VISION
GOALS 1-5
QUAKERISM • PROGRAM • TEACHING • TIME • SPACE
FROM A DISTANCE
A NEW WAY TO TEACH AND LEARN In January, as the realization grew that the novel coronavirus could upend elementary and secondary education as we know it, members of the senior administrative team began the work to reimagine and then reinvent teaching and learning at PC. To say that it was a Herculean effort would almost feel like an understatement. Head of School Darryl J. Ford tasked Assistant Head of School Beth Glascott to oversee the effort and Academic Dean David Brightbill and Director of Strategic Initiatives Travis Larrabee to dive into available research and the experience of schools in other parts of the country that closed early on in the crisis. The idea of learning outside the classroom was not new to these PC educators: For the past decade, as Penn Charter has implemented its Strategic Vision, they have been studying remote learning and implementing it selectively, when appropriate for the subject and students’ cognitive development. But the worsening crisis clearly required a more sweeping and, in the end, radical implementation.
Meanwhile, the examples on these two pages provide a glimpse into teaching and learning during a pandemic.
MIDDLE SCHOOL ACADEMICS Seventh grade students still present their work to peers as they would have done in the labs of Richard B. Fisher Middle School — but they share using Google Meet to video conference from their home study space. Here, seventh grader Sadie Wade presents on the physical differences in intestinal lining of a celiac patient. As a culminating assessment on the unit they’ve studied since mid-January, each student chose a topic related to a human body system and explained an affliction where a system doesn’t work correctly. “The students reported that they liked this project more than the lab practical,” seventh grade science teacher Lisa Howard said. “And many presentations were about viruses. Go figure!”
Ford cancelled all classes a week before spring break was set to begin and, during break, the entire faculty joined in the work that occupied senior administrators, technology educators and chairs of departments for January, February and March. Penn Charter launched its Distance Learning Plan on March 31, on the first day back from break. Ford described it to students and parents as “Distance Learning 1.0,” making the point that the program is iterative; distance learning at PC has evolved from that first day and will continue to change as teachers, students and families learn from experience. Because Penn Charter is in the enviable position of being able to guarantee that our students have the technology they need to learn remotely — a device and an Internet connection — we have the ability to deliver a robust distance learning program, pre-K to 12. The program uses Google Meet to video conference, plus various apps. Teachers provide synchronous and asynchronous academic lessons, plus community time, one-on-one time with teachers, and opportunities for clubs and interaction with friends.
THE PRIMARY GOALS OF THE PROGRAM ARE: • academic progress • meaningful engagement in productive learning with peers and teachers • maintaining relationships and connection Distance learning at PC continues to evolve and will right up until, and including, the last official day of school. On Saturday, June 6, join us online on Facebook or YouTube for Penn Charter’s first-ever virtual graduation. Commencement for the Class of 2020 begins with a photo montage at 10:30 a.m. and a prerecorded, formal, socially distanced program at 10:40 a.m.
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LOWER SCHOOL LIBRARY Lower School Librarian Linda O’Malley hosts twice-weekly live storytime for Lower School students. The read alouds were so popular the division added “Sing” with Lower School music teacher Margaret Lea and “Fun Activities” with physical education teacher David Bass. Families connect via YouTube to listen—and watch—live, and the read alouds are also recorded and archived, available
of “Old Penn Charter Alma Mater,” and with the help of digital sound mixing technology, came together as one for the familiar tune. Instrument sections—the low brass, for example—enjoy video visits from professional musicians, taking advantage of everyone being at home and able to connect, meaning students hear from experts they might not otherwise have met.
later if the scheduled time conflicted with a family’s schedule. Distance learning in all three divisions is a combination of synchronous and asynchronous opportunities. This method, driven by research, data and experiences shared by schools, allows for differing family schedules, student learning styles, for wellness and concerns about screen time.
PHYS ED + ATHLETICS UPPER SCHOOL ACADEMICS + BAND Upper School students meet online for classes and activities each day, ending around 1:35 p.m. Academic discussion and collaborative work happen synchronously, in real time, and students complete coursework or classwork offline and present or submit the work to their teachers. The 80+ strong Symphonic Band discovered early that playing simultaneously while live on Google Meet presented many challenges. In a hallmark of PC DIstance Learning’s iterative process, the band members recorded their individual parts
Students and student-athletes find ways to be active during PC Distance Learning. Varsity girls lacrosse meets every weekday at 3:30 to find connection and strength from being a team. A healthy body is key to an active brain and learning. Physical Education teachers offer daily workouts and challenges for students and adults via Penn Charter’s password-protected website and Instagram.
QUAKER ED Students and faculty gather for Meeting for Worship weekly and have found the vocal testimony to be fulfilling. Fifth grade teachers have been using the opportunity to encourage students to talk and think deeply about gratitude: "We are grateful for these moments where we can hold on to the sense of community we've built this year. We are grateful to gather for Meeting for Worship when we can see the faces of our classmates, students, and teachers." And most importantly, "We are grateful to all be together!" said fifth grade teachers Naveena Bembry, Whitney Kerner, Sarah Black and Chris Burnett. PC
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CAMPUS CURRENTS
Snaps for
The
The Upper School musical The Addams Family: A New Musical Comedy asked—in song—what does it mean to be normal anyway? Students on stage and behind-the-scenes created a visually stunning and uproarious production, enjoyed by audiences that filled the Ball Theater.
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CAMPUS CURRENTS
Small Ensembles Celebrate 10 Years of the Kurtz Center Small ensembles from all three divisions performed on the stage of the Earl and Pam Ball Theater on Jan. 28, the 10th anniversary of the ribbon cutting for the David L. Kurtz Center for the Performing Arts. The Kurtz family and other friends of the arts gathered before the concert to mark the occasion. Interspersed among soaring performances by the Brass Ensemble, Girls a Cappella, the Charter Singers, and more, the assembled audience heard from OPCs about the importance of PC performing arts in their lives and the impact of the Kurtz Center on the student experience.
Pictured, from left: John T. Rogers Hon. 1689, Jeffry Benoliel OPC ’76, Jane Evans Hon. 1689, Darryl J. Ford Hon. 1689, Gail Sullivan Ford, Holly Webb OPC ’15, David OPC ’82 and Jennifer Kurtz, Claudia and Lev Nazarian, Jeff Reinhold, George “Skip” Corson OPC ‘52 and Penny Brodie.
RALLYING FOR MIKE MCGLINCHEY OPC ’13 Go, Mike, go! Go, Mike, go! Students chanted support for Mike McGlinchey OPC ’13 as they waved yellow rally towels bearing his name. McGlinchey, a right tackle for the San Francisco 49ers, in his second year in the NFL, played in Super Bowl LIV against the Kansas City Chiefs. Though the Chiefs won the game, his Notre Dame and Penn Charter coaches agree he had a great outing, including a play where McGlinchey ran more than 10 yards up the field and blocked multiple defenders. Way to go, Mike!
Fifth graders showed their excitement for McGlinchey playing in Super Bowl LIV.
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CAMPUS CURRENTS
SCHOOLED CAST VISITS REAL “WILLIAM PENN ACADEMY” When AJ Michalka and Brett Dier from the ABC comedy Schooled traveled all the way from California to Penn Charter in January, the school and teachers who influenced series co-creator Adam Goldberg OPC '94 gave them an enthusiastic Quaker welcome. Goldberg, creator of the hit sitcom The Goldbergs, created this spinoff, an insightful and funny take on teachers of "William Penn Academy" in the 1990s. PC Middle School teacher Charlie Brown, Goldberg's self-described and real-life favorite teacher, who taught him both English and math, emceed an assembly for 216 Middle School fans of the show. The actors, who play Lainey and CB (based on our own Charlie Brown Hon. 1689), fielded questions, posed for photos, handed out hugs and high-fives ... in short, they were treated like celebs, but also kind of like favorite teachers. Students wanted to know everything from set details to the best path to an acting career to whether Dier can breakdance. (Challenge accepted!)
Michalka and Dier met the real Beth Glascott and Liz Flemming (Flemming is pictured above with the actors and Charlie Brown), who inspired characters on Schooled, and joined the middle schoolers in waving rally towels to cheer on San Francisco 49er Mike McGlinchey OPC '13, who would compete in the Super Bowl that weekend. When the Schooled visitors departed, they went to another Philadelphia landmark: the Rocky Steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. But we're pretty sure it was the Penn Charter visit that made them feel like champions. See photos at flickr.com/photos/penncharter/albums.
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DISTINGUISHED SPEAKERS AT PENN CHARTER Mareena Snowden is the first black woman to earn a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is currently a senior engineer in the National Security Analysis Department at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. Max Stossel spoke to PC faculty, students and parents about the addictive and distracting nature baked into social media design. Having run social for multinational brands and worked for a social media company designing notifications, he offered a unique perspective on the role of technology in schools and society. Christine Ashley delivered the 2019 Hubben Lecture to Penn Charter's faculty and staff on Nov. 26. Ashley is the Quaker field secretary at Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL). As a lobbyist and in her role at FCNL, Ashley nurtures and strengthens the relationship between the organization and Friends around the country. As part of Penn Charter’s commitment to learning and excellence, the Distinguished Speakers Series invites highly respected individuals and groups to speak to students, parents and faculty. A dozen speakers, including the three highlighted here, visited campus during this academic year.
CAMPUS CURRENTS
PENN CHARTER’S COMMUNITY SHINES ON GREAT DAY TO BE A QUAKER Penn Charter’s Great Day to Be a Quaker looked different this year, but it was still a great day of celebrating what we love about our school. The day morphed into an online celebration of PC because all of the activities on campus and across Philadelphia were canceled in an effort to protect the community from COVID-19. “I am grateful for the outpouring of support for our school,” wrote Chief Development Officer John T. Rogers Hon. 1689 in an email to the community, “and especially for the messages of what our community loves about Penn Charter.” In this uncertain time, many connected to the school found themselves returning to the values and lessons learned during their time in East Falls. We are grateful to be a source of strength for the community, and we draw strength from the community’s messages about what they hold most dear about Penn Charter. In one day, Penn Charter’s fifth annual interactive day of giving raised $301,559 from 315 donors, including meeting a $100,000 dollar-for-dollar match, a testament to the loyalty and generosity of our community. See more messages of support and further giving updates at penncharter.com/greatday.
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PC SCREENS JUST MERCY Penn Charter’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion welcomed more than 300 of the Penn Charter family and connected community in early February for a free screening of the critically acclaimed theatrical film Just Mercy. The movie, starring Jamie Foxx, Michael B. Jordan and Brie Larson, follows the efforts of attorney Bryan Stevenson to defend the wrongly condemned Walter McMillian. The movie is based on Stevenson’s 2014 memoir, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, which was among the New York Times’ “100 Notable Books” for the year. Stevenson’s Equal Justice Initiative, founded in 1989, has won reversals, relief or release from prison for more than 135 wrongly condemned prisoners on death row. “Huge thank you to Dr. Howard Stevenson— University of Pennsylvania professor, Penn Charter parent, and Bryan’s brother—for making this possible,” said Antonio Williams, director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Penn Charter and organizer of the event. “I’m thrilled to have had the opportunity to gather so many in our community to watch this important film that highlights the experience of so many Americans. It is our responsibility as a Quaker institution to shine the light upon the injustices in our country.”
PC STUDENTS LEAD SECOND ANNUAL DIVERSITY CONFERENCE For a second year, Penn Charter students planned and led the Cheryl Irving Student Diversity Conference for high school students from across the region, including Inter-Ac schools, Crefeld School, Mount Saint Joseph School, and fellow Quaker schools Moorestown Friends and Friends Central. This year’s workshops and discussions centered on intersectionality, the theoretical framework for understanding how different categorizations of race, gender, class or ability might combine to uniquely impact an individual’s experience of discrimination and privilege. “I wanted to make sure that the day provided a space where students would explore diversity through the lens of intersectionality and in doing so honor the conference's namesake, Ms. Cheryl Irving,” said Savannah Payton, who led the monthslong, 16-student effort to organize the conference. “The most fulfilling part of my role was watching the day unfold as co-organizers and attending students engaged in meaningful activities facilitated by their peers, made connections and had fun." Workshops led by students included Free Speech in Songs, Disability Etiquette, Environmental Racism and more. The conference welcomed Kevin Powell, acclaimed civil and human rights activist, to campus as the keynote speaker. Powell is the author of 13 books, including his autobiography, The Education of Kevin Powell: A Boy’s Journey into Manhood. On the eve of the conference, Powell spoke to parents and signed books. The conference was named in memory of beloved Penn Charter English teacher Cheryl O. Irving Hon. 1689. PC
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FACULTY NEWS
Tim Lynch Publishes Research on Glioblastoma Not many people have the opportunity to research their own type of cancer. But in November 2019, PC science teacher Tim Lynch Hon. 1689, who survived glioblastoma multiforme and was given only nine months to live at the time, published his research on glioblastoma in the scientific journal Acta Neuropathologica Communications. Co-first author, Lynch spent four years researching and writing “Immune Landscapes Associated with Different Glioblastoma Molecular Subtypes.” His research included a sabbatical in 2013-14 spent working with other scientists in the Neurosurgery Department at the University of Pennsylvania.
“We’re the first group to use immunohistopathlogy to locate the cells we were studying,” Lynch said. “Most researchers use molecular protocols to more rapidly identify cells. I wanted to see it for myself. It gave us a visual—a picture of where the immune cells were—to more accurately illustrate our research findings.”
Though currently on disability for treatment of medical issues he is facing in the aftermath of the glioblastoma he survived 27 years ago, Lynch is at Penn Charter to help students as needed— and to instill in them a love for the scientific method. “Science is a marathon, not a sprint,” he said. “The process itself is amazing.” PC
Lynch’s team researched preserved tumor specimens from the University of Pennsylvania’s glioblastoma patients, with a focus on the immune cells that cohabitate with brain cancer cells. Four different molecular subtypes of glioblastoma were identified by researchers at other institutions. Lynch studied immune cells living in the tumor microenvironment (the space between tumor cells) by subtype to determine if particular immune cells impact survival. To streamline the examination of 4,500 samples, Lynch’s tools included a specialized microscope system that utilized a robotic arm to load and unload slides and take micrographs (photos) of specimens that were later analyzed with image-interpreting software. His team trained the software to reliably distinguish among immune cells, normal brain cells and brain tumor cells in each sample. The method used to locate immune cells uses components— antibodies—of the immune system to target and label the immune cells.
Tim Lynch worked to establish relationships with world-class scientists that yielded real-world experiences for many PC students. He is shown here in 2017 on the Penn campus with three of those students: Amanda Fleming OPC ’12, Jack Roseman OPC ’17 and Jennie Reisman OPC ’17.
Penn Charter lost two iconic educators this year. Read tributes and remembrances at penncharter.com/alumni.
Joan Costello Hon. 1689
Joe Perrott Hon. 1689
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ATHLETIC ACHIEVEMENTS SWIMMING AND DIVING
Sally Foley Named Easterns Women's Swimmer of the Meet Senior and Duke commit Sally Foley won the Women's Swimmer of the Meet award at the Eastern Interscholastic Swimming and Diving Championships, marking the first time a PC female athlete has received the honor. Over the course of the weekend’s competition in the prestigious high school meet, Foley won the 100-meter breaststroke, setting a new pool record (1:00.81); won the 200 individual medley, breaking team, meet and pool records; and swam in two gold-medal relay teams.
Women's and Men's Swimmers of the Meet: Penn Charter's Sally Foley and Pennington's David Curtiss.
The PC girls dominated the relays at Easterns, swimming to first-place finishes in the 400 freestyle, 200 freestyle and 200 medley events. Seniors Sam Boyes and Gabby Lopez-Ona, junior Camille Weiss, sophomore Lane Murray and ninth grader Aisling Brady all shared in the victories. In individual competition, Lopez-Ona won the 100-yard butterfly, and Murray finished third in the same event. Boyes won silver in the 50 freestyle and bronze in the 100 freestyle, and Weiss won bronze in the 200 freestyle, posting a new team record in the process.
INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
PC Runners Medal in City, State Championships The indoor track and field program wrapped up its season with several medal-winning performances in city and statewide competitions. At the PATFCA State Championships, PC’s girls distance medley relay team of (L-R) sophomore Julia Dolce, senior Sara Shipon, junior Peyton Parker and junior Emma Zwall took home the silver after finishing with a time of 12:11. Earlier in the season, the girls ran well at the Pennsylvania Public School Invitational, where the 4x800 relay team of Dolce, Shipon, Zwall and ninth grader Dani Shipon finished first with the second fastest time in the state this year (9:18). Dani Shipon also won the 800-meter outright. On the boys team, senior Patrick Fehm tied for first place in the high jump (6' 6") but won silver on misses; and senior Akeel Blake won bronze in the long jump (22' 11.25") at PATFCA. Both Quakers qualified for the state championships after finishing top-three in events at the TFCA Greater Philadelphia Meet of Champions, where Blake took bronze in the long jump and triple jump, and Fehm took silver in the triple jump and high jump.
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BASKETBALL
Two Career Milestones, One Night Seniors Kait Carter and Carmen Williams scored their 1,000th career points just minutes apart from one another during a decisive win over Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. The game’s second quarter was briefly interrupted twice as teammates, coaches and family celebrated the milestones. Both PC hoopsters also have siblings who have crossed the 1,000-point threshold: Carmen joins brother Mason Williams OPC ’18, and Kait joins brother Matt Carter (MaST Community Charter School ’17) in this illustrious club. The girls team concluded its stellar 25-4 season in the final round of the PA Independent School Athletics Association Tournament, where PC was narrowly defeated by Abington Friends. Four Quakers were awarded All Inter-Ac Honors: seniors Carter and Williams (First Team), and ninth graders Kelsey Bess and Aleah Snead (Second Team).
L-R, Head Coach Joe Maguire, Kait Carter, Carmen Williams and Director of Athletics and Athletic Planning John Thiel.
BASKETBALL
Ryan Holmes Makes #3 on All-Time Scoring List Senior Ryan Holmes finished his career with 1,515 points, earning him the third-place spot on PC's all-time scoring list behind #2 Sammy Zeglinski OPC ’07 and #1 Billy Harris OPC ’71. Holmes, who hit the 1,000-point mark during the 2018-19 season, averaged more than 16 points per game during his final season with the Quakers.
SOCCER
Girls Soccer Wins State Championship The 2019 girls soccer team captured the PAISAA State title after finishing with an overall record of 18-3-1 and a second-place Inter-Ac record of 9-3-0. The season was filled with exciting wins and big games, a talented and dangerous offense, a hardworking and skilled midfield, and a tough and fast defense. Twelve PC seniors led the formidable Quaker squad. Junior Janae Stewart was selected for the U.S. Youth Soccer National Team after a standout season leading the Quaker offense with 25 goals and seven assists. The program brought her to training camp in Florida where she worked with top athletes and coaches from around the country. Last year, Stewart qualified for the Eastern Pennsylvania Olympic Youth Development Program in Costa Rica.
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PC P RO F I LE S
30 Under 30: Elias Tanner OPC ’08 BY MARK F. BERNSTEIN OPC ’79
Athletes and actors are interesting people, but often there is someone behind the scenes whose story is worth telling, too. For an example, look at the new six-episode web series, &Music, produced by OBB Media and its media development and strategy executive, Elias Tanner OPC ’08. The series premiered April 6 on Quibi. For those who don’t know what Quibi is and don’t mind showing their age, it’s a short-form online platform that aims for a younger audience by producing 10-minute videos called “quick bites” that can be viewed on cell phones or laptops. Each episode of &Music, which Tanner coproduced, takes a different person in the music industry and focuses on someone in their life who helped make them a star. The inaugural episode, for example, centers on singer Ariana Grande’s choreographer. Later episodes look at the light designer for top Dutch DJ Martin Garrix and the man who wrote Ozzy Osbourne’s latest album. “The focus,” Tanner said, “is on shining a light on the person behind the curtain who doesn’t normally get the light shone on them.” That is not a bad description of Tanner himself. He has worked with some of the top people in the entertainment and sports industries but rarely gets the spotlight himself. Well, sometimes he does. In February, Forbes magazine named Tanner one of this year’s “30 Under 30” rising stars. Tanner described his job as creative shepherding. “You work with a writer or director and help them shape their vision into something salable and something that could actually be made,” he explained. That runs from the beginning of a project until the end, through casting, filming, recording, editing and post-production work. “You kind of end up being the person at the center of the web.” Though he now lives and works in Los Angeles, Tanner’s move to the West Coast happened more or less by accident. After graduating from
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the University of Pennsylvania in 2012, he spent a year at the London School of Economics before taking a job in New York with the public relations firm Joele Frank. The job paid very well, but Tanner says it wasn’t for him. In 2015, he quit to go out on his own. For the better part of a year, Tanner threw himself at any job in the entertainment industry he could find. His LinkedIn profile for those years lists his job as “Complete Unknown.” He and two friends even produced a web series they described as, “A web series about millennials who make a web series. Ugh.” It was, he recalled, “a meta story about how dumb it would be for someone to quit their job and do this.” Not that dumb, as things turned out. Someone saw the series and sent it to producer and director Michael Ratner, who had recently founded the company now known as OBB Media. Ratner liked it and invited Tanner to go out to Los Angeles to help produce a new project. “Much to my mother’s chagrin,” Tanner laughed, “what was meant to be a one-month trip has turned into four years.” Last year, Tanner helped launch OBB Sound, a division of the company that focuses on podcasts. One of its first will be “The Pursuit of Healthness,” a health and wellness podcast series starring basketball star Blake Griffin. In addition to being a six-time NBA All-Star, Griffin is also a “health and wellness freak,” Tanner said, so the series follows his pursuit of ever more knowledge and insight. In one early episode, Griffin meets with nutritionists at NASA to learn what the astronauts eat and how they train. “I think that’s something our company has done a very good job at,” Tanner reflected. “Managing talent is a very important part of this job, and part of that is, once you know somebody, finding out what they really want to do and trying to figure out a way for them to do that thing.” If many OPCs wear their allegiance to Penn Charter on their sleeve, Tanner takes his a little further. His right arm bears a tattoo with the letters “SPQR,” the initials that appeared on Roman documents and currency and stand for the phrase, “The Senate and the People of Rome.” Tanner says he learned it from Jim Fiorile in his sixth grade Latin class and it stuck with him. “I wrote that on every test and paper through high school and college,” Tanner explained. “It means, ‘We’re all in it together.’ Everyone had their role in the greatness that was Rome.”
PC
PC P RO F I LE S
30 Under 30: Sierra Tishgart OPC ’08 BY MARK F. BERNSTEIN OPC ’79
Like everyone else, Sierra Tishgart OPC ’08, the cofounder of Great Jones, an online cookware company, is weathering the COVID-19 lockdown as best she can. It’s rough, trying to run a fledgling online business remotely. On the other hand, if Tishgart is stuck at home, so are her customers. With time on their hands and restaurants closed, people might be ready to try whipping up something themselves. Great Jones is there to help. “We’re in the business of home cooking, which is a good business to be in right now,” she said philosophically. “Our goal is to get people cooking more frequently and more confidently.” Great Jones offers a range of kitchen essentials, including a Dutch oven, stockpot, saucepan, a deep sauté pan, large and small skillets, and a baking sheet. Although the inventory is simple, the design and style are sophisticated. Every detail has been thoroughly researched. Pot handles, for example, are welded on, so there are no rivets for food to get caught in, and they have been subjected to infrared thermography tests to make sure that heat dissipates properly. And with a retro nod, products come in a range of colors that would not have been out of place in your mother’s ’70s kitchen, including mustard yellow, marinara red and broccoli green. The company’s name, Great Jones, is an homage to cookbook author and editor Judith Jones, who in turn discovered several other great cookbook authors, including Julia Child, James Beard and Edna Lewis. (It’s also the name of the street in Lower Manhattan where they are headquartered.) In order to get customers cooking more comfortably, the Great Jones website also includes favorite recipes from current top chefs Alison Roman, Roxane Gay and Andy Baraghani. It even offers a free text message service (called “Potline”) for recipe suggestions and real-time cooking advice. Tishgart inherited her cooking gene from both parents. “I definitely grew up in a family that valued cooking and gathering around a table,”
she said. Her mother made a family breakfast every morning, “no matter what.” Her father built his own pizza oven. The multitasking life of an entrepreneur came naturally to Tishgart. At PC, she was the head of student government, captain of the girls track team, and also wrote her first op-ed for the Philadelphia Inquirer on the perils of drunk driving. “The PC English teachers took me seriously,” she recalled. “They respected my writing and encouraged me to pursue getting published at a young age.” For her Senior Comprehensive Project, Tishgart worked for Barack Obama’s campaign during the 2008 Pennsylvania primary and, though still a high school student, helped lead their college outreach program. She majored in journalism at Northwestern University and, while still in college, got a side job as a features editor at Teen Vogue. After graduation, Tishgart decided she wanted to become a food editor, cold-emailed New York Magazine and got a job. Working there for the next five years, she became senior editor of the magazine’s food and restaurant blog, Grub Street, won a James Beard Award, and even hosted a regular segment interviewing chefs on CBS This Morning. During her magazine career, Tishgart authored articles on many subjects, with titles ranging from “How Big-Name New York Chefs Found a New Platform for Success in Philly" to “The Chef Who Lost His Ability to Cook." But an article she wrote for Bon Appetit last March sums up her career arc: “I Left My Dream Job to Make Pots and Pans. What Was I Even Thinking?” Tishgart made the jump with Maddy Moelis, an old friend from summer camp who had a background working with startups. The pair spent nine months building their inventory and website, raising more than $3 million in funding from investors, including restaurateur David Chang and Nic Jammet, founder of Sweetgreen. She also landed a spot on Forbes magazine’s “30 Under 30” list. Running a business, does Tishgart have time to do any cooking herself? “I cook so much more since starting the company,” she said, “but in an extremely casual way.” The popularity of cooking shows such as The Great British Bake Off and celebrity TV chefs, from Gordon Ramsay to Guy Fieri, have made cooking seem fun but also intimidating. Tishgart says not to worry. “I think people feel they’re not cooking unless they’re roasting this whole lamb shoulder,” she laughed. “My cooking often looks like me making an omelet in my pajamas. I cook often. It’s just not show-off cooking. But any cooking is better than none.” PC
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These 20 treasured objects, featured along with six dozen more in the book History Revealed: Treasures from the Archives of William Penn Charter School, celebrate the history of the school founded by William Penn and the Religious Society of Friends as told through objects, artifacts and memorabilia. The book was inspired by the 325th anniversary of Penn Charter. Art teacher and historic preservationist Randy W. Granger Hon. 1689 led faculty, staff and overseers in the creation process and toiled to bring the project to fruition. The hope is that the collection, and even the smaller selection shared here, will inspire ongoing connections to the legacy of the world’s oldest Friends school.
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Great Seal of the Province of Pennsylvania 1699 This is a fine early example of an impression of the Great Seal of the Province of Pennsylvania and dates from 1699. The 4-inch-diameter red wax impression is double-sided and carries the Penn family crest on the front with the word “MERCY” above the crest, and below it, the word “JUSTICE.” Around the perimeter are the words: “WILLIAM PENN PROPRIATOR AND GOVERNOR OF PENNSILVANIA.” On the reverse side (not shown), directly in the center of the seal, are three radially placed ears of corn and three alternating sticks entwined with grapevines configured in the shape of a cloverleaf. That entire configuration is encircled by a ring of words and the date: “TRUTH PEACE LOVE AND PLENTY 1699.” The seal is resting inside a tin storage case. The Great Seal was used to authenticate government documents in the Province of Pennsylvania. From the outset of his proprietorship of Pennsylvania, Penn sought to govern the province by the fundamental Quaker values of equality and tolerance. Though Penn did not spend much time in Pennsylvania during his proprietorship, he did return to the province in 1699, when this particular seal was used.
William Penn Maquette 1888–1889 In 1875, sculptor Alexander Milne Calder won the artist competition for the sculptural decoration of Philadelphia City Hall and went on to create the 37-foot-tall, 27-ton statue of William Penn, the tallest atop any building in the world. Penn Charter acquired this Calder maquette, or model, in the late nineteenth century and it now resides in our Gummere Library. At 28 inches tall, it is cast in solid bronze and weighs approximately fifty pounds. Of the eight maquettes known to exist, museum experts believe the piece is one of the finest in terms of casting quality and surface condition. The full-size Penn was completed in 1892 and installation atop the tower on City Hall was completed in 1894.
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William Penn Charter History Revealed Academic Certificate 1889 Prior to the twentieth century, students graduating from William Penn Charter School received a hand-written document such as the one pictured here, which was awarded to John Falconer Sinclair in 1889. At that time, many colleges and universities did not require an official diploma as we know them today. A precious paper such as this was typically issued to students in independent schools at the time to certify that the student had “completed the course of study of the classical side of the school and has passed the prescribed examinations.” John Falconer Sinclair received his undergraduate and medical school degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and became a noted pediatrician who founded and directed a children’s hospital in Philadelphia. This Penn Charter certificate includes the school’s seal and the signatures of three legendary Penn Charter leaders: Richard Mott Jones, headmaster, responsible for “forming” the Penn Charter of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Edward Bettle Jr. OPC and Overseers clerk, and T. Wister Brown OPC, Overseers treasurer and board member for 60 years.
Golden Oak Desk 1875–1895 This late nineteenth century Golden Oak desk measures 30 inches high, 60 inches long, and 26 inches deep. Incised lettering on the apron above the school seal proclaims William Penn’s quote and our school’s motto, “Good Instruction Is Better than Riches.” The desk was brought to this site in 1925 from the old school building located at 8 S. 12th Street. An 1892 photograph confirms that this desk was originally finished with varnish, shellac, or linseed oil, revealing the rich beauty and depth of the oak grain. A later photo (1931) in our collection shows the desk painted white with only the top surface left in its natural state. This desk has been restored twice since 1984 and the white paint fully removed to reveal the original character and beauty of the piece. Often a centerpiece at gatherings, this desk was used by Headmaster John F. Gummere at Meeting for Worship, when it rested center-stage at the front of the Meeting Room. It is now at home in Gummere Library.
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Schoolyard Gate 1909 Samuel Yellin, 1885–1940, came to Philadelphia from Poland in 1906 and went on to become America’s most renowned metalworking artist of the twentieth century. From 1909 to his death in 1940, Samuel Yellin and his blacksmiths produced a broad and diverse body of ornamental ironwork that enhanced revival buildings across the nation. This body of work was created for many of the most important structures and clients of the time. The massive entry gate pictured here and on display in our Upper School, comes from the old Penn Charter schoolyard located at 8 S. 12th Street. This gate was one of the earliest commissions completed by Yellin in his first shop on N. 5th Street in Philadelphia. Made in 1909, this 350-pound, eight-foot-by-4-foot hand-forged iron gate possesses a surprisingly light and delicate look, despite its great weight, and creates an illusion of high-energy optical movement going on within the gate’s perimeter. Yellin’s life-span contributions to the ancient art of blacksmithing, made at the height of the industrial revolution, were both monumental and defining for art, architecture and handwork in America. Understanding something of Yellin’s exquisite artistry and craft serves to heighten our own awareness of the specialness of Penn Charter and its links to the history, art, architecture and technology in our community and beyond.
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William Penn Charter History Revealed
Bell Tower View
Clock Tower Bell
2016
1912
Standing atop the bell tower of Penn Charter
What does corn have to do with the Clock Tower
one can see the beauty and majesty of both
bell? The 2,500-pound bell in Penn Charter’s Clock
nature and our great city. The skyline of
Tower carries the inscription “Corn Exchange Nat’l
Philadelphia is visible on the horizon to the
Bank Philadelphia, Pa. 1858–1913.” It is likely that
right of center. It seems altogether appropriate that the city we view from this angle and the school we stand upon to see it were both created by William Penn on the very same day in 1701 when he signed twin charters: the first, establishing the City of Philadelphia as the official center of his “Holy Experiment” and the second, the Friends Public School as the educational vehicle by which to prepare the city’s youth to become active, contributing participants in that experiment. Both entities
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the bell came from the Corn Exchange Bank building in Philadelphia, located on the southeast corner of Second and Chestnut streets. The 3-footdiameter, cast-bronze bell does not swing; rather the bell and its headstock are mounted on a stationary stand. An external striker with an 85-pound head strikes it on the hour. Just as the Clock
have gone on to grow, prosper and give to the
Tower provides a visual landmark
world. The full arc of student engagement can
and icon of the school, the bell atop
be seen stretched from athletic playing fields
the tower reminds us of time and
(left) through the academic complex (middle)
tradition. The bell connects us to
to the David L. Kurtz Center for the Performing
Penn Charter history every time we
Arts (right).
hear its ring.
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Sexta Costumes 1885 One of the more endearing photographs from the school’s collection is this nineteenth century, 10-by-12-inch studio portrait of the members of sexta level, which would correspond to the sixth grade students in our modern-day Middle School. The costumes of the young men in the photo include a sailor, a policeman, circus performers, a football player, a farmer, a dandy, and both Tweedledee and Tweedledum. While we don’t know whether these particular students were dressed up for a school pageant, a play or a Halloween parade, their eyes engage us and raise questions and suggest narratives within our own minds. This example of the photographer’s art was created by one of Philadelphia’s finest photography studios of the period, Gilbert’s Studio at 926 Chestnut Street, shortly before it closed in 1886.
Assembly Room Benches 1926 A Penn Charter Business Office letter of Oct. 21, 1926, to Alfred G. Scattergood, treasurer of Overseers, confirmed that delivery and installation by the Chapman Decorative Company of Philadelphia of 78 new meetinghouse benches was successfully completed on Oct. 11, 1926, at a cost of $4,758. Seventy-one of the 10.5-foot-long stained-maple benches were placed in the Meeting Room, then called the Assembly Room, while seven others ended up in the front lobby and throughout other areas of
the school. For more than 50 years, the Meeting Room benches were bare wood, which caused many a student to dread the prospect of weekly Meeting for Worship. In 1988, however, Clerk of Overseers Grace Russell Wheeler successfully advocated for upholstered cushions and Overseer Richard P. Brown OPC ’38 gifted them on the occasion of his 50th class reunion. The benches are constructed of solid maple and their dimensions are 36 inches tall, 126 inches long, and 19 inches deep.
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William Penn Charter History Revealed Red Front Doors 1925 There may have been a time when the school’s iconic front doors were not red, but, according to Stephen A. Bonnie OPC ’66, “it has been red for my entire life.” The sepia-colored photos taken of the school in 1925 provide little clue, and there is no mention of door color in descriptions of Penn Charter’s move to our current campus. Like Penn Charter, red doors have a historic and cultural significance far beyond curb appeal. They have been an American symbol of refuge, welcome and remembrance for hundreds of years. In early American tradition, a red door signified welcome to weary travelers seeking lodging. It was a symbol of refuge during the Civil War, as red doors indicated “safe houses” that were part of the Underground Railroad. Every two years, exterior door at Penn Charter is painted in Sherwin-Williams’ classic Ardmore Red.
Girls Basketball Sweatshirt 1 9 8 7– 1 9 8 8 This sweatshirt is one of fifteen made during the winter of 1987–1988 to commemorate the launch of the very first girls basketball team at Penn Charter. During that academic year the school was moving ever closer to the first class with young women to graduate (1992) in 118 years. Coach Liz Flemming described the historic act of making the first team sweatshirts for girls in this way: “The girls wanted some team clothing and a commemoration of their season just like the boys teams, and so we designed this. We agreed on white hooded sweatshirts and it was my idea to include the ‘Making History’ words. The girls agreed, because we did realize that it was a special moment in time for us and for Penn Charter. The girls’ sweatshirts were hooded, but the one pictured above was mine and I did not want a hood. I like looking at the sweatshirt and seeing how it is yellowing some with a few stains. The iron-on design has some cracks…it shows its age, that it is, in fact, an historical artifact. I also like the memories it brings back. I can see and feel the girls’ enthusiasm and energy, remember their mistakes and their successes. I can picture us all in the gym, learning together and making history together.”
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Peace Quilts 2001 This wall hanging, referred to as a Peace Quilt, was created in 2001 as a direct community response to the terrorist attacks of September 11 of that year. Guiding the effort was Overseer Jane Evans Hon. 1689, who felt deeply moved to create objects that could serve as tangible reminders of our unity as a community and make a statement for peace at a time of aggression toward our nation and its citizens. Using fabric as the medium, the 96-by-77-inch quilt contains dove-shaped cutouts that populate the blue field. The white doves were cut out by adult members of the Penn Charter community, and children throughout all divisions of the school were given the opportunity to sign a dove that was then placed on the quilt field.
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William Penn Charter History Revealed The Students Gazette 1777
Ancient Learning Tools 1830–1890 For centuries, a student’s basic tools consisted mainly of paper, pen, ink and books. This pine pencil box holds original mid-nineteenth century writing implements and is made of a thin, wooden top that is hinged to a thick piece of pine that has been excavated to safely retain the fragile hand-blown glass penholder and its delicate goose quill nibs. The box also contains a graphite stick to be used as a pencil, and a metal pen nib for writing with ink. Students had to carry ink, made of lamp-black in linseed oil, in hand-blown and cork-stoppered ink bottles such as this one. The book, The Charter of Liberties from William Penn to the Freemen of the Province of Pennsylvania, is a hand-printed, leather-bound volume from our collection.
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The document at right depicts the cover and back of the Students Gazette, dated June 11, 1777, the first known effort at student journalism in the country. Distributed on Wednesdays via multiple copies in longhand script on quartersheet-sized paper, the newspaper was published from June 1777 through August 1778. More impressive than that the newspaper was entirely handwritten each week by students writing with quill pens was the fact that the Students Gazette was published through the entire period of the British occupation of the city. According to the Gazette, students were even “obliged to evacuate” their school on Dec. 18, 1777, “to make room for the British forces.”
Cigar Box Label 1906 The idea of using colorful labels on cigar boxes for brand identification for cigars started in the late 1830s. By 1906, when this label with a portrait and signature of our founder was printed for cedar boxes containing Wm Penn Cigars, more than 5 billion cigars were being sold annually in the United States. Four out of every five adult males in the U.S. smoked cigars then, and some women did, too. A hundred years before the feminist movement gained a presence in American culture, many cigar box labels referenced the changing roles of women, and depicted popular sports and historical personalities as heroes, while also making unspoken commentary about the cigar-smoker’s own values and beliefs. These exquisitely printed chromolithographic images were often amusing and frequently controversial. While this example bears no connection to the school or Penn, we admire the rich color and striking graphics.
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William Penn Charter History Revealed Petition of 1697 1697 In 1689, William Penn, governor of the Province of Pennsylvania, wrote from England to Thomas Lloyd, president of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania and a respected Friend, instructing him to establish “a Public Grammar School” in the city of Philadelphia. Penn’s desire was for a public school to prepare children to be active, moral citizens within a participatory democracy. Penn’s vision led to the establishment in 1689 of a grammar school to teach reading and writing. This 1697 petition to the governor and Provincial Council laid out foundational intentions for the school, the population it would serve, and how it would be sustained and governed by “The Overseers of the Public School Founded by Charter in the Town and County of Philadelphia.” Penn’s three subsequent charters, in 1701, 1708 and 1711, were built upon the framework of this original petition.
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Annie Virginia Jones and Daughters Friends Meeting House Postcard
1896
1906
Richard Mott Jones, Penn Charter’s headmaster from 1874 to 1917, received
This penny postcard of Friends leaving the meetinghouse
special permission from the Overseers to enroll his three daughters at Penn
at Fourth and Arch streets comes from the postcard collection of the Penn Charter Art Department. This 1906
Charter, then an all-boys school at 12th and Market streets. In an interview for Penn Charter News in 1980, Virginia Jones Webber, who attended Penn
hand-colored card was made before the development of
Charter from 1893 until her graduation in 1903, recalled that the culture of the
color film. In 1907, the post office calculated it processed
school, and the restrictions society placed on women in that era, kept her from
677 million postcards. Few possess the unusual depth
participating fully in school life. “Penn Charter boys were all very nice to us,
and authenticity that this image provides. Walker
but we did not mix with them very much. In Friends Meeting my sister and I sat
Evans, one of the most influential photographers of the
apart from the boys. My favorite teacher was Miss Dudley. I was not Mr. Spiers’
twentieth century, agreed. In his landmark talk, “Lyric
kind of student, but I liked Mr. Porter; he was a fine artist and also started Color
Documentary,” at Yale University in 1964, he stated, “… the
Day. I was a Blue. Girls did not participate in sports or Color Day, but I attended
atmosphere of that Sunday morning, the Friends Meeting
every game and cheered louder than anyone. One year I was elected president
… couldn’t be purer or truer. I’m placed right there when I
of the Science Club. When I told Papa about it, he said, ‘No, Baby; thee will have
look at that picture. Well, more than that, I have a feeling
to resign.’ So I resigned.” Annie Jones, the headmaster’s wife, is pictured here
of…well the human pleasure and beauty of being.”
with daughters Madeline, Genevieve, and, most likely at far right, Virginia. SPRING 2020 •
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William Penn Charter History Revealed Inter-Ac Track Medal
Color Day
1887
1923
This 1.5-inch-diameter bronze medal
The tradition of Color Day lives on as a cherished
was won by George Dudley Whitney
end-of-school event for the entire Penn Charter
OPC 1890, of Glassboro, New Jersey,
community. Its participants include students,
in an Inter-Ac track meet in 1887. The
parents, grandparents, faculty, staff, alumni and
Inter-Academic League (Inter-Ac) is
friends, all sharing a festive and fun outdoor event.
a high school, inter-scholastic sports
Students, grades kindergarten through 12, compete
league of private schools in Philadelphia
on the blue or the yellow team in grade-specific
and environs. When the schools first
friendly relays, with the senior class’s Rope Pull as
organized the conference in 1887, they called it
the final event of the day. Originally conceived by
the Inter-Academic Athletic Association, and boys
physical education and art teacher Isaac Porter in
played two sports, football and track and field. It
1892, the earliest Color Day contests were held on
was one of the earliest permanent interscholastic
Penn Charter’s 52nd Street athletic fields in West
football leagues in the United States. Early members
Philadelphia. Since 1913, however, the contests
were Penn Charter, De Lancey, Episcopal Academy,
have been held on the School House Lane campus
Friends Central School, Germantown Academy,
at the very same spot where Color Day takes place
Haverford Grammar, and Swarthmore High School.
today, on the present-day football field.
In the first decade after the turn of the century, the Inter-Ac increased the number of sports, adding ice hockey, baseball, tennis, and basketball.
Surveyor’s Transit and Case 1893 A transit is used by a surveyor to measure horizontal and vertical angles on the land. This Young & Son Transit, serial no. 6683, was made in Philadelphia in 1893 and purchased by the school for use in teaching the practice of surveying. The earliest transits measured horizontal angles only. Later examples, such as this one, were provided with a level and vertical arcs. Legendary teacher M. Albert “Bert” Linton continued to teach with this transit from 1944 through the end of the 1980s, providing Penn Charter math students with practical instruction using what many authorities consider to be the single most important surveying instrument used in the United States during the nineteenth century.
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Exclusive book offer for PC Friends! This beautifully illustrated, award-winning book is available to the Penn Charter community in a keepsake edition that also makes a perfect gift. Alumni, parents and friends of the school may now purchase copies of History Revealed: Treasures from the Archives of William Penn Charter School from the School Store. Visit in person or contact the store to ship a copy; $30, plus $10 if shipping is required. Email jburkhart@penncharter.com or call 215-844-3460Â ext. 154.
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Downtown Reception 2o20 G N I R U T A E F Rob Salkowitz OPC ’85
AUTHOR, CONSULTANT, EDUCATOR AND ENTREPRENEUR Rob Salkowitz OPC ’85, keynote speaker at the 2020 Downtown Reception, schooled an appreciative audience on the profound impact of comic books and comic book fans on popular culture, a development he said made the world safer for “alpha nerds” like him. Salkowitz drew laughs from the crowd when he described his eighthgrade self, a studious introvert who liked to hang out on the second floor of Gummere Library playing Dungeons & Dragons with friends, or in Randy Granger’s art room, talking endlessly about comic books and superheroes. “Who knew that the stuff that earned us wedgies as eighth graders would someday create hundreds of millions of dollars of economic value,” Salkowitz said. “I thought it was more likely that we would all develop superpowers after being bitten by a radioactive spider! But here we are. It’s a marvelous universe, and we just live in it.” An entrepreneur, author, professor and dynamic speaker, Salkowitz described how comics and comic book fans “went from being a niche on the edges of public consciousness to the engine of the entertainment economy in movies, television, video games, even a global generation of people who wear superhero insignias on their clothing.”
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It was, he said, all about storytelling. “For millennia, people have told themselves stories about heroes and villains and imaginary roles. These stories speak to something within us, and they remind us of things that are true, or at least should be true. “Eighty years ago a bunch of first-generation immigrants who had no opportunities elsewhere in publishing turned to the lowly, and kind of trashy, new format of comic books to retell these stories in the graphic language of visual words and pictures that proved to be unbelievably compelling, uniquely simple and direct. The supermen and wonder women that these folks created solved problems that these creators could not solve for themselves. They stood up to the bullies, the oppressors, the fascists. They spoke out for fairness and equality and social justice. “Especially in a time when justice can feel absent in the real world, is it any wonder that millions of people all over the world are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to see these stories retold on giant screens, or that they show up in their multitudes to celebrate the stories and their creators. The worlds that comics create may be imaginary— but the potential that they show us in ourselves is real. “Now, is the story of how comic book culture ate popular culture for breakfast the most important thing going on right now? Maybe not, but it’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.” PC
Jacob Markovitz OPC ’05 with Head of School Darryl J. Ford.
Jeff Torchon OPC ’06 and his wife, Nikki, had fun posing for a caricature artist.
Rob Salkowitz OPC ’85 attracted a crowd of OPCs and parents to support Penn Charter, explore pop culture, and celebrate some PC superheroes past and present. OPC superheroes from the Class of 1985: Jon Bari, Joseph Livezey, Seth Duncan, Joe Gleason, Rob Salkowitz, Greg Wolfson and Jonathan Korn.
Performing arts teacher Eva Kay Noone with Shaina Levin OPC ’09 and Katherine Grace OPC ’09.
Chris Carroll OPC ’96, Chris Rahill OPC ’99, Craig Sabatino OPC ’74 and William Gallagher Jr. OPC ’91.
Matt Kessler OPC '99, Brandon Shockley OPC ’05, Allison Kessler OPC ’04 and Andrew Stein OPC ’02.
Tables at The Lucy, a new Center City venue, were decorated with laser cutouts (produced in PC’s IdeaLab!) highlighting how facilities and our campus transformation elevate the student experience.
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ATHLETIC HONOR SOCIETY
class of 2019
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The Athletic Honor Society Class of 2019 – seven individuals and five teams – was inducted on Nov. 8, 2020, at the 12th Athletic Honor Society banquet, an evening memorable for heartfelt speeches celebrating the bonds of families, friends and teams.
Head of School Darryl J. Ford introduced "Legacy," a film tribute to Penn Charter football in celebration of the team's 700th win.
The Alumni Society recognized teams that won Inter-Ac championships on the track, on the court, on the field and in the pool. Some teams were trailblazers in relatively new sports of Penn Charter’s expanding athletics program, and others built on a legacy in their sport.
It's a family affair: Conor Resch, Mary Resch, Tony Resch OPC '81, Julia Angelos and Patrick Resch OPC '10.
Stephen A. Bonnie OPC ’66 presented the induction class of 2019.
Reunited: Jim Ballangee Hon. 1689 and Michael James OPC ’95.
“These teams’ accomplishments epitomize Penn Charter’s tradition of excellence,” William A. Gallagher OPC ’91, chair of the Athletic Honor Society Selection Committee, told a full house at an evening celebration. Gallagher noted that each of the individual inductees excelled at PC and in college and, in some cases, as coaches and professional athletes. “The individual inductees have demonstrated character and dedication to athletics during their years at Penn Charter and after graduation.” In addition to the speeches, the full house at Vie, an elegant venue on Broad Street in Philadelphia, enjoyed the company, the dinner and two special videos: one video honoring the inductees, plus Legacy, a tribute to Penn Charter football in celebration of the team’s 700th win. View those videos at penncharter.com/ondemand. View more photos at flickr.com/penncharter/sets.
Friendly foursome: Assistant Head of School Beth Glascott Hon. 1689, Marguerite Walters Adzick OPC '07, Joan Walters and Overseer Jane Evans Hon. 1689.
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ATHLETIC HONOR SOCIETY
AHS INDIVIDUAL INDUCTEES Abe Dunmeyer OPC ’87 Jim Killinger OPC ’91 Kathleen Miller McCoy OPC ’96 Margaretha Ehret OPC ’05
Jim Killinger OPC ’91 lettered in swimming, water polo and baseball.
Marie McKenna OPC ’05 Zack Zeglinski OPC ’05 Joey Sankey OPC ’11
TEAM INDUCTEES
Marie McKenna OPC ’05 lettered in field hockey, basketball and lacrosse.
1991-92 Boys Swimming 1995 Boys Track 2001 Boys Water Polo Kathleen Miller McCoy OPC ’96 lettered
2003 Field Hockey
in field hockey, basketball and lacrosse.
2008 Boys Squash
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Joey Sankey OPC ’11 lettered in football
Margaretha Ehret OPC ’05 lettered in
and lacrosse.
field hockey, basketball and lacrosse.
Abe Dunmeyer OPC ’87 lettered
Zack Zeglinski OPC ’05, third from right, lettered
in basketball and track.
in football, basketball and baseball.
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1995 Boys Track: Represented by Justin A. Wakefield OPC '98, Thomas H. Scott OPC '95, Christopher Curtis OPC '89, Daniel F. Ryan IV OPC '98, Steven R. Ley Jr. OPC '96, Michael James OPC '95, Assistant Coach Jim Ballangee Hon. 1689, Assistant Coach Bruce MacCullough Hon. 1689, Head Coach Stephen A. Bonnie OPC '66, Assistant Coach Elizabeth Flemming, Brian K. Walls OPC '95, Patrick V. Larkin Jr. OPC '97, Matthew Gillespie OPC '98, James H. Shacklett IV OPC '96 and Assistant Coach Jon Kinley.
1991-92 Boys Swimming: Represented by Brian Walters OPC '95, Christopher Johnson OPC '96, Charles Cunningham OPC '92, Blake B. Goodner OPC '92, Coach Charlie Brown Hon. 1689, Jason Webb OPC '93 and Reza Alavi OPC '94.
2001 Boys Water Polo: Represented by Christopher R. Mouzon OPC '04, Coach Charlie Brown Hon. 1689, Nicholas Brown OPC '05, Joshua K. Sperling OPC '04, Aaron Mittica OPC '02, Peter W. O'Keefe OPC '04 and parent Laura McKenna P ‘02, 05, 07.
2003 Field Hockey: Represented by Ariel Tishgart OPC '05,
2007-08 Boys Squash: Represented by Alex Domenick
Marguerite Adzick OPC '07, Anne McKenna OPC '07, Margaretha Ehret OPC '05, Erin Hozack OPC '04, Michal F. Wachs OPC '04 and Marie McKenna OPC '05.
OPC '08, Matt Domenick OPC '08, Dave Hilton III OPC '08 and Christopher W. Bown OPC '10.
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William Penn Charter School
Then & Now
1926
Since 1892, Color Day has been a springtime celebration of competitive camaraderie. In 1926, the event reflected the formality of that era.
2019 34
Today’s Color Day, while less formal in attire, retains beloved traditions like the procession of class banners honoring those who came before them—today’s alumni. •
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ALUMNI
Class Notes
Class Notes Penn Charter magazine wants to hear from you, and your classmates do, too! Submit your news and photos at penncharter.com/classnote. Digital photos should be 300 dpi JPEGs.
1689
“In 1989, I retired from active duty as a general and accepted an appointment as a tenured full professor of liberal arts at Boston University, presenting courses in U.S. national security and Latin American affairs. During this second career, I also served pro bono as the president’s chairman of the American Battle Monuments Commission, responsible for commemorating overseas the service of the armed forces. This also included construction of the World War II Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. “My third career is now serving as a volunteer reader to the local second grade students. Through all, I have been ably supported by my wife, Gennie, four sons and their families, nine grandsons and one great-grandson.”
Katherine Ballengee OPC ’97, James M. Ballengee Hon. 1689, S. Lindsay Ballengee OPC ’99 and Bruce MacCullough Hon. 1689 volunteered over the holidays to serve lunch at Broad Street Ministry.
Fred F. Woerner Jr.
1952
1951 Fred F. Woerner Jr. writes, “After graduating from Penn Charter, I attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the regular Army. Initial training included infantry, ranger and parachute. My subsequent 35-year career was divided between traditional soldiering and specialization in United States-Latin American military relations. I received an MA in Latin American studies from the University of Arizona. Overseas assignments were served in Vietnam, Colombia, Panama, Guatemala and Uruguay. continued at top
Frank F. Embick Jr. writes, “I marvel at the vigor and growth at Penn Charter and only wish I could observe it firsthand. I miss the classmates but enjoy hearing about them in Penn Charter magazine. Anna and I enjoy living in the condo, for the most part, and are looking forward to some exotic trips this year to celebrate our 50th anniversary.”
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Class Notes in Chadds Ford, continues to be involved with historic preservation and new design projects in the U.S. and abroad, including a new residential community in Dalian, China. Several years ago, I retired from part-time teaching after serving for 37 years as adjunct professor of architecture in the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Design, where I also conducted a conservation summer school in conjunction with the University of Plymouth in England. My wife, Wynne, and I enjoy our free time in Provence and Corfu in France.”
Colson H. Hillier Jr. writes, “Santa and Mrs. Claus made it all the way to Grand Cayman, as the Hilliers celebrated Christmas this year on a seven-day Caribbean cruise.”
Michael P. Ritter writes, “As of the moment, Margo and I are pretty much back on track. I’m driving my yellow Honda Fit, happily going to music jobs in Virginia and Maryland, and puttering around the house, much in the fashion of years gone by. Margo has taken this quarter off from teaching ice skating. She hosted a number of holiday parties in the meantime but will return to the rink shortly. We’re both in surprisingly good health for mid-80s kids; maybe a bit more wobbly and a dash more forgetful, but as we put it, we’re both living ‘in the land of denial.’”
John H. Wagner III plays tennis daily, and he and Carol still get out to their Colorado ranch in the summer. John had a short but serious health problem on a trip in France back in October, but has recovered fully, as evidenced by the daily tennis report.
Joseph B. Van Sciver III and his wife, Carol, shared their Christmas card, below.
Owen B. Tabor writes, “I see W. Barnes Hauptfuhrer OPC ’72 and Scott B. Perper OPC ’74 in Charlotte, N.C., when visiting family there. I remain retired from orthopedics in Memphis, with time spent in Charlottesville, Va., and Isle of Skye, Scotland, to escape the heat. Margaret and I love hearing from classmates at Christmastime, and I cherish my years at PC.”
Frederick J. Yannessa celebrated his 85th birthday along with Charles Kurz II OPC ’63; both Charles and wife Nicky, and Fred and wife Joan are residents of Beaumont at Bryn Mawr.
1955
1956 John D. Milner writes, “I recently completed my 50th year of architectural practice. John Milner Architects, located
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1957 Thomas W. Budd shared “the tale of two Penn Charter boys from different eras who got together to form a law firm in New York.” He writes, “I graduated from Penn Charter in 1957. Henry Clifton Jr. OPC ’27 graduated from Penn Charter 30 years earlier. I started as a young labor lawyer with the New York law firm of Buell Clifton & Turner, and it was a while before I found out that Henry Clifton Jr. went to Penn Charter. (Interestingly, my father, Rex Budd, was the advertising VP at Campbell Soup, and when he started there, Henry Clifton Sr. was the credit manager.) “In 1968, Dick Buell died, and a year later Bill Turner died. I was only 29 at the time but had a substantial amount of business. Henry Clifton and I decided to break off from the general corporate lawyers and start a new firm that was strictly devoted to labor and employment. That firm, which began in 1969 with Clifton, me and one associate, was Clifton Budd & Burke, and is now the firm of Clifton Budd & DeMaria, located in the Empire State Building. It is a management labor and employment specialty firm. Recently we were included on the Forbes magazine list of the top corporate law firms in the United States. The Forbes list shows the firm as having been started in 1900— that’s a stretch, though Henry Clifton did work in a firm with Walter Gordon Merritt, considered by many the first labor lawyer in the U.S. (In the early 1900s, Merritt tried the famous Danbury Hatters’ Case.)”
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Class Notes
1958
1961
William A. Graham IV writes, “In June 2020, I will celebrate my 58th anniversary working at Graham Company, an insurance brokerage and consultant firm located in Philadelphia. I have been happily married to my wife, Fran, for almost 43 years. We have an amazing daughter, Laura, the mother of our granddaughter Macy and our newest granddaughter, Paloma. Our wonderful son, Quint, is married to Jessica, parents of our granddaughters Elizabeth and Caroline. At 78 years old, I still enjoy working every day, encourage and promote wrestling, and give back to those people and places that have positively impacted my life. I also enjoy getting together with other PC alumni: John E.F. (Jef) Corson, Ross R. Hibbert, Robert D. Morrow Jr., Stephen J. Ruckman, Edwin A. Weihenmayer III and Rodger C. Wichterman. I am looking forward to the new Graham Athletics and Wellness Center being built on the Penn Charter campus this year, which will be a state-of-the-art facility.”
Roy A. Beauchamp writes, “A few years ago, I closed up Beauchamp Studios, the marketing/creative consulting business I started in 1988 in California. I quickly discovered that the surest sign you are “retired” is that you tend to forget what day of the week it is. Since then, I have written three novels—the hardest kind of writing I’ve ever done. I’m now living in Manhattan with my wife, Amy; my two youngest sons are living in Brooklyn. Love to run along the Hudson, very slowly. I was a member of the Class of 1961 and was on the football team. I happened to be digging around in an old file and found this photo from September of 1960. From left: Duncan M. McFarland, Roy A. Beauchamp and Raymond W. Vickers (kneeling). Great memories, great guys.”
Bill Graham IV, second from right, was joined by Ross Hibbert, Rodger Wichterman and Bob Morrow for the ceremonial groundbreaking of the William A. Graham Athletics and Wellness Center.
Richard A. Redeker and his wife, Carol, spend eight months in Jupiter, Fla., and four months in Stone Harbor, N.J. He writes, “Our eldest son, Rick, and his wife, Brandy, live in Pompano Beach, Fla., and our grandchildren are 30, 24 and 21. Our youngest son, Bill, and his wife, Bridget, live in Boise, Idaho. Carol has mostly retired from building and decorating high-end homes on speculation. I was mandatorily retired from the Prudential Retail Mutual Funds Board after serving for 25 years. I have recently passed the courses to become an arbitrator for FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority). I still snow ski, albeit slower, and golf, albeit not as well, and Carol and I play a lot of golf together.”
1959 William E. Chapman II writes, “For someone who spent his business career in the retirement business, I seem to keep retiring over and over. October 2019 represented the final departure from a paid job as I retired from the board of Third Avenue Funds. I am keeping busy with volunteer activities, mostly as board chair of Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation.”
1960 David Scott attended the St. Andrews Annual Dinner on Dec. 5, 2019. Many OPCs were in attendance, including Blake M. Christoph OPC ’74, William (Bill) F. MacDonald Jr. OPC ’62, Alan R. McFarland Jr., Stuart A. McFarland OPC ’65 and Neil B. Tanner OPC ’89.
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Class Notes
1963 Charles Kurz II (below, right) writes that he and Charles L. Burrall III attended one of the Revels productions at the clubhouse of the Orpheus Club in Center City on Jan. 30. In February, Charley Kurz and his wife, Julia, cruised from Auckland, New Zealand, to Sydney, Australia, spending three additional days in Cairns to visit the Great Barrier Reef.
1964 Roger D. Shoemaker writes, “Joanne and I, alive and well on Cape Cod, are still married in year 48 of the adventure. She is winding down a career that includes teaching, manufacturing, direct marketing and importing. I continue with my career in education through the arts, round three, as director of drama at my local public high school. Our elder daughter is in health care consulting in the D.C. area, with a boy (7) and a girl (10) who will soon look down on me due to Amanda’s grafting a 6’4” husband onto the family tree. Younger daughter Abby lives 2 miles from Disney World, with an IT, work-at-home spouse. The only classmate I am in touch with regularly is Scott K. Ambler. Best to all as we enter the twilight years, hopefully not the Twilight Zone. If you would like to contact me, I use the highly mysterious email address rogerdshoemaker@gmail.com.”
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Douglas G. Thomas writes, “I retired on Dec. 31, 2019, from my law firm, Duffy North, in Hatboro, Pa., after 45 years in practice at that office.”
Harry S. Stout III was awarded the Pennington Prize from Germany’s University of Heidelberg for his writings on Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address and Emancipation Proclamation. The award included a month fellowship at the University of Heidelberg. Stout directs Yale University’s Jonathan Edwards Center and has established affiliates at 10 universities in South America, Asia and Europe, including Heidelberg.
I know new medical terms, take an aspirin as a prophylactic blood thinner and have an iWatch that shows heart rate and EKGs. I can’t wait to see what the heart doctor says about the EKG in the middle of a mogul run. “Maggie and I left a month later to hike the beginning of the Camino Frances from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. The hike over the Pyrenees was memorable: pouring rain and 20+ mph winds. The nice, quiet, sunny days do not make the same impression! As our son in Colorado says, ‘There is no bad weather, just wrong gear.’ Happily we had good gear (after a bit of fiddling). “The 70-99 age group in the Longport mile has more ‘younger’ folks in it, so Charles Kurz II OPC ’63 and I are easing back in the stats. Maybe we will have a burst of speed this July 4?”
1966
1968
1965
Donald A. Noveau writes, “After two years of retirement, out of boredom, I took on another hotel project in Tampa. Now it’s finished, and I’m looking for my next gig. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to volunteer at the Smithsonian, where I can tell you the locations of the bathrooms in five museums, as well as offer some hints and insights on visiting the museums (all 19). Or, I can volunteer with Habitat for Humanity when I feel like swinging a hammer and helping others learn about power tools. During the Tampa project, Barbara and I made a second trip to Portugal and Spain for a little over two weeks, across the north coast, into the Pyrenees and down to Barcelona. We love Spain. Then we got a new Boxer puppy.”
1967 Richard M. Dearnley writes, “Had a minor stroke in April that acted more like a TIA than a stroke. I was feeling something approaching ’normal’ after 12 hours. So now
Edwin S. Skinner Jr. writes, “On retirement last July, Pam and I took an extended trip north into Michigan. First, to fly fish with our son, Tim. Then, on to Mackinac Island where we drove a horse cart around the island. Then, we crossed Mackinac Bridge to visit friends in the ‘UP’ (Upper Peninsula). It was a great ending to a 46-year work life! Keeping up with four grandchildren sure is a lot of fun!”
1969 John (Jack) B. Eiman writes, “Rod and I delivered Christmas chocolates to Lucas and Blake, our great nephews, at their flag football game in Orinda, Calif. (pictured). “We so appreciated and enjoyed my 50th class reunion and hope to visit PC again. The last time I saw my 1969 classmates was when we were 18 years old and connecting back at 68 years young was truly an awesome experience. I feel very grateful to have attended Penn Charter and look forward
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Class Notes to supporting the school so others may benefit from such a privileged education. Thanks, Penn Charter, and to all my OPC ’69 classmates: May we all find our own ways to serve the good, the true and the beautiful.”
1971 William D. Barker Jr. writes, “After beginning the curious career of portraying Thomas Jefferson (pictured) first at Independence Hall in the spring of 1980, 13 years later I moved to Williamsburg, Va., and continued my portrayal with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. I enjoyed 26 years there, having the privilege of living on the Duke of Gloucester Street. This past year, I transitioned to full-time presentations as Mr. Jefferson with the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Monticello, and live in Charlottesville, Va. I happen to be the same age as Mr. Jefferson was when he returned home from eight years as president, ending his 40 years in public service. Needless to say, “retirement” is not—as yet—a word
in my vocabulary! Mr. Jefferson lived on for another 17 years, during which he created the University of Virginia. “Jefferson remains profoundly relevant to our modern world, and particularly to the necessity of universal education. He was a friend and consistent correspondent with former Penn Charter Latin teacher and headmaster, Charles Thomson, who was also secretary of both the Continental and U.S. Congresses. This was during the years PC was known as the Friends Public School of Philadelphia. I remain extremely grateful for my Penn Charter education, especially for my former PC history teachers, Russell A. Faber Hon. 1689 and Ron McGowan, and English teachers John R. Schug Hon. 1689, Ralph Allen and Edward (Ted) O. Shakespeare!”
1970
Russell R. Dickhart writes, “It was great to see a nice group of classmates at the lunch Robert N. Reeves hosted at Huntingdon Valley Country Club in September—swapping “catch-up” stories and laughs. Since retiring from Aetna almost four years ago, life has been great: more time in Cape May where I’m very involved with both the sailing and beach clubs; “get out of the cold” road trips south with the ultimate destination near Houston to spend time with our grandkids; “downsizing” in the Philly area to a post-55 community near Media, which has been great; and looking forward to our younger son’s marriage later this year following his move back to Philadelphia. The Dickhart “clan” (picured, from left): son Chuck with fiancée Alison, son Russ Jr. with Kristen and grandchildren Halle and Trey, and Russ and Lora Jo. William D. Barker Jr. as Thomas Jefferson
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Class Notes W. Bruce McFarland is currently managing Deluca Music in Hatboro, Pa., and still performing in the greater Philadelphia area three to six times a month. He writes, “I am the lead guitarist for Mike Greer & Company and also perform an acoustic duo, with my partner Dana Fraser, as Dana & Bruce. I will be releasing another song this spring, and it will be available to check out on YouTube along with my other releases, and the Dana & Bruce video currently streaming. My wife, Ruth Ann, and I are residing in Roslyn, Pa. Our daughter, Erin, graduated from the University of Richmond in 2007 and is living in Chicago, with her husband, Ross, and raising our two grandchildren, Grant who will be three in July, and George, who will be one in August. Our son, Thomas, graduated from Johns Hopkins in 2013 and is currently living in NYC and working as a civil engineer.”
1972 David R. Gilkeson is the new chair of the board of directors of the Houston West Chamber of Commerce.
1973 Bruce N. Wilson writes, “I continue to run my small green building company, Bruce Wilson Contracting, and though I am a general contractor who does anything from small repairs to kitchens, bathrooms, basement renovations and additions, one of my marketing focuses is on energy improvements to existing buildings. It has been a main focus of business since 2007, when I did my first talk on green building. During the research for that talk, I realized that since buildings account for 40 percent of energy use and since most of our buildings are not efficient, making all our existing buildings more efficient is of paramount importance for each of us to have a local impact on climate change.”
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1974 J. Peter Davis and his wife, Susan, have discovered the advantages of the empty nest with daughter Sara attending East Stroudsburg University and son John A. Davis OPC ’19 embarking on freshman year at Gettysburg College. Pictured: researching retirement sunsets with John H. Zurn OPC ’72 (at right) in Naples, Fla.
“I still work at FEMA with my days filled around topics of changing conditions of climate, sea-level rise, recovery and a myriad of flood-risk communication demands. Kathy and I have four grandchildren who remind us of the miracle of young life and the importance of nurturing all to be the best they can.”
1976 Christopher V. Kendrick writes, “In 2019, I had another case ordered published in the law books as setting precedent in California insurance law, my seventh in 27 years of practice, including a 2011 decision by the California Supreme Court.”
William H. Lesser III writes, “Hello, OPCs of ’74. I must share with you the wonderful adventure my wife, Kathy, and I had with M. Reid Bush (below, right). He invited us to join him for a tour of beautiful Longwood Gardens with its stately trees all decked out with their finest Christmas lights. Reid continues to be an inspiration with his insight, love of nature, fascination with the music of the Longwood pipe organ and his distinctive sense of humor. As was the case more than 40 years ago at PC, time spent with Reid is always a blessing.
Nicholas A. Sommaripa writes, “I live at the New Jersey shore in West Creek, Eagleswood Township, which is outside of Long Beach Island, one town south of Manahawkin. Our small township is governed by a three-person form of government, which is great because it only takes two members to agree to get things done. I’m not a politician whatsoever but was asked to join the committee three years ago and accepted. The two committee members at the time neglected to inform me that the position of mayor is rotated each year. This is my third year, so I have assumed the position of mayor for 2020. I wanted to let my classmates and fellow alumni know that I have the authority to marry people in the state of New Jersey, so feel free to contact me!”
1977 James R. Malone Jr. was named to the Irish Legal 100, an annual compilation of distinguished legal professionals in the United States of Irish ancestry. Jim is a principal at Post & Schell, P.C. in Philadelphia, where he represents businesses, individuals and nonprofits in disputes with federal, state and local tax authorities.
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Class Notes
1978 David H. Neff founded Neff in 1987, a national, full-service marketing agency specializing in branding, advertising, public relations, social media, videography, media buying and planning. Neff was recognized the last two years as one of the Philadelphia Business Journal’s Soaring 76 and the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Philadelphia 100, which both celebrate the fastest growing companies in the Philadelphia region. In the past year, Neff was also recognized with more than 30 international and national awards for excellence in design, videography, PR and social media. And most importantly, David reports, he just became a grandfather to baby Leo (pictured)!
Kirk R. Mancer is happy to announce the birth of his grandson, Samuel Pearson, and already has him PC-ready in his Penn Charter gear (pictured).
1982 Frank K. Clyburn Jr. has been named chief commercial officer at Merck. He writes, “I’m living in Portland, Ore., with my wife, Leah, and daughter, Elinor (who was named after my mom).” At the end of 2019, Frank retired from the FBI, after 23 years as a special agent.
1983 Benjamin E. Long, his wife, Beth, and Bernedoodle, Theo, are moving to Blue Bell in the spring. He invites his classmates out to visit for a wee dram from his vast whisky collection, to hear some live music or tee it up. Ben gets to visit PC often these days as his son Ryan is class of 2023. He and Beth spent New Year’s in Paris celebrating their anniversary.
1979 John D. Lemonick writes, “My wife, Karen, and I moved from Wayne to Bryn Mawr. We had been talking about downsizing for some time and finally made the move. It was not easy. My son Michael, age 28, is the navigator of the USS Donald Cooke, based in Rota, Spain, and he is doing well. His division was recently subjected to a rigorous inspection by a U.S.-based panel of naval experts over a period of weeks, and they passed with a very high grade. My daughter, Hilary, age 25, recently changed jobs and started working for 8Greens, a start-up concern in the health-food supplement space in Manhattan. The reunion was a blast, and I hope we can put together a Class of ’79 gathering.”
Jonathan H. Bari OPC ’85 writes, “In terms of PC students living lives that make a difference, I want to share that on Jan. 14, Leslie, Jax (first grade) and I traveled to Washington, D.C., and spoke at a Congressional briefing regarding efforts to increase federal funding for celiac disease research. It was like a children’s story, ‘Jax Goes to Capitol Hill,’ and we all told the lawmakers about celiac disease, a serious autoimmune disease that afflicts 3 million Americans, including Jax. Leslie and I are so proud of Jax and his advocacy for increased funding for research and greater inclusion in life’s many daily activities that involve food. The bipartisan briefing was hosted by Congressman Dwight Evans (D, PA-3) and Congressman John Joyce (R, PA-13). About 65 people attended, including about 10 other kids who took time out of school to be on Capitol Hill. As Jax told Congresswoman Madeleine Dean (D, PA-4), “Celiac disease is no joke!” Pictured: Arunjot Singh, director of the Center for Celiac Disease at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Jon and Jax Bari, Madeleine Dean, Leslie Bari and Vanessa Weisbrod of Children’s National Hospital in D.C.
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Class Notes
1987
1988
Scott F. Waterman closed his private law practice after he was appointed to be a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Trustee for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In the fall he joined Todd E.H. Hecht and Glenn A. Weiner in celebrating Jeffrey R. Havsy’s 50th birthday at Fenway Park in Boston. Pictured, from left: Glenn, Scott, Todd and Jeff.
Joseph M. Sgrignioli is happy to report that everyone is happy and healthy in Hershey, Pa., with his wife and daughters, “Especially our latest arrival, Emily, who is now 18 months old! Tournament business is better than ever, as well as our expansion into the custom screen-printing and embroidery business. Still get together with Valdis A. Erdmanis Hon. 1689, William A. Gallagher Sr. Hon. 1689 and Richard D. Mellor OPC ’69 on the golf course. It’s still blue vs. yellow. I’ll get back to you with the latest results soon.”
1990 Theodore B. Nusbaum was named head coach of the boys varsity lacrosse team at Brooklyn Technical High School, in Brooklyn, N.Y. Brooklyn Tech is among the largest high schools in the country, with more than 6,000 students.
Los Angeles Reception
1993 Jeffrey G. Fischer writes, “It’s been almost 27 years since I graduated; it feels like forever. I am mostly happily married and have two kids, Oliver and Lucy; they whine and cry a lot. I play flag football on Sunday mornings at Arrow field in Roxborough; I hurt afterwards. I am presently working on the redevelopment of the Andorra Shopping Center, a mere 3 miles from Penn Charter; my career is taking me places. I still tell people that I was third in the state in wrestling; I leave out the part that it was only private schools. I look back upon my Penn Charter experiences and relationships with great appreciation and hope my classmates are well.”
OPCs in Los Angeles gathered to meet with Head of School Darryl J. Ford Hon. 1689 and Director of Alumni Relations Chris Rahill OPC ’99. Attending were: Stephen Bruno OPC ’97, Stephanie Carson OPC ’92, JD Dillard OPC ’06, Peter Farnese OPC ’99, Adam F. Goldberg OPC ’94, Jason Harrow OPC ’02, Ross Harrow OPC ’07, Jessica Kalick OPC ’05, Jennifer Markham OPC ’92, Adam Miller OPC ’91, Dan Spink OPC ’96, Elias Tanner OPC ’08.
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Class Notes
1994
1999 After two years as a health and science reporter at WHYY, Philadelphia’s NPR member station, Dana A. Bate started a new job at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as the senior medical and science writer.
2002
Members of the Class of ’94 continue their tradition of getting together once a year. This year was hosted by Megan L. (Miller) Wilson OPC ’94 and David E. Wilson OPC ’90 and included friends from a number of different classes. “Always great to catch up with old friends!” they report.
1995 Ariel Bernstein, author of I Have a Balloon and the Warren & Dragon series of chapter books, was this year’s Lower School visiting author. She presented to students pre-K to 5 about writing children’s books, including the four categories of characters: animals, humans, creatures and “anything goes.” Together, they made up a new story about Carl the mobile phone who lives in a video game.
Jane H. Affleck writes, “I welcomed my first child, Wiley, into the world last summer. I also returned to my job as STEM coordinator at KairosPDX, a K-5 charter school in Portland, Ore. I’d be excited to connect with any OPCs in the Pacific Northwest!” (See births.) Aaron M. Greenfield has launched a global movement called BeastCat, open to anyone who strives to live life to their full potential and become the best version of themselves. The movement’s intent, Aaron says, is “to motivate, inspire and support our communities.” Benjamin R. Sanfillipo-Cohn recently moved back to Philadelphia—“finally!”— with wife Cindy and daughter Penelope after seven years in Chicago. He writes, “I completed my residency at the University of Chicago in family medicine and practiced for a few years in Chicago before the move back home in the fall. I just started with Penn Medicine in Chestnut Hill in November.”
2003 1998 James (Christian) Donohue moved back to Pennsylvania almost five years ago and is currently an engineer for University of Pennsylvania Medicine.
Brittany H. Cook reports, “In January, I became managing director and equity partner at Tiedemann Trust Company, where I work as a wealth planner and fiduciary counsel. I often get to see and spend time with Andrew B. Seiken at trust and estate conferences!”
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Class Notes Natalie L. Hogan was recently promoted to chief administrative officer of DataRobot. Natalie is pictured (front center) with some of her team members in Boston.
2007
2016
Bridgette McDugall is the lead nurse for Nemours duPont Pediatrics, Philadelphia.
Over winter break, Hannah R. Fox (left) and Devon C. Loftus (right) got together to see Hannah compete against Widener in her last year on the Amherst women’s basketball team.
2010 Austin B. Wood writes, “I moved to Barcelona with a new job! I’m the manager of corporate development at a startup called Wallbox, which makes charging stations for electric vehicles.”
2005 Alex S. Weiner and his wife, Bari, with their new son, Jarrett, and their dog, Hazelnut, moved to a new home in Villanova. Alex’s longtime friend Sean Rust OPC ’06 was their real estate agent. A transactional attorney at Kurtz & Revness, P.C. in the King of Prussia area, Alex’s practice focuses on commercial real estate and other corporate/business matters. The managing partner of the firm, Stuart B. Kurtz, is an OPC parent. Alex was promoted to partner earlier this year. Outside of work, Alex and Bari have enjoyed spending time with their growing family, including Alex’s brother (and proud uncle) Eric T. Weiner OPC ’08, along with Alex’s sister Rachel M. Weiner OPC ’12, sister-inlaw Michelle and Bari’s sister Jaclyn, who are proud aunts.
2006 Jeffrey Torchon has embarked on a new professional journey. He continues to play at PC events and with student musicians in the orchestra pit, but he recently enrolled as a full-time PhD student in music education at Temple University. In addition to his coursework, he also received a full teaching assistantship in the program. He is enjoying the chance to continue his studies in music and education as well as pursue research interests.
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2015 Tyler Nicole Williams (below, left) and Rachael Gordon (right) are both living in New York City and are pictured at a Rangers hockey game. In 2019, Tyler graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and is working at JPMorgan; and Rachael graduated from American University and is working for Lion & Lamb Communications. Each Wednesday, they volunteer at God’s Love We Deliver by preparing food that is delivered to those living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other serious illnesses, to alleviate hunger and malnutrition.
2018 Mike Siani OPC ’18 (below, center) and Mark Gubicza OPC ’81 (second from right) met for the first time at spring training in Scottsdale, Ariz. Mike, who currently plays for the Cincinnati Reds, and Mark, who is the color commentator for the Los Angeles Angels, attended dinner with Mike’s parents, Ralph and Kristen Siani, and Chris Carroll OPC ’96. Mike was given the opportunity to attend Penn Charter through the support of the Tony Gubicza Scholarship Fund created in honor of Mark’s father.
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Class Notes DEATHS Hon. 1689
1951
1958
George C. Henrich, on Dec. 11, 2019. Joan Costello, on March 27, 2020.
Joan was a kindergarten teacher and director of Lower School from 1956 to 1994.
1952
John W.N. Francis, on Dec. 3, 2019.
1970
Charles M. Waygood, on Dec. 18, 2019. Joseph S. Perrott, on April 24, 2020.
Joe taught English and coached lacrosse from 1964 to 2006.
1955
Joseph Brock Coleman, on Jul. 3, 2019.
1976
Kenneth A. Bailey, on Jan. 10, 2020. Robert H. (Jake) Roak, on Dec. 30, 2019.
Jake taught German at Penn Charter from 1966 to 1987.
1956
1947
Geoffrey R. Deacon, on Jan. 2, 2020.
1983
Chalmers Cornelius, on Dec. 3, 2019.
James R. Harris Jr., on Dec. 17, 2019.
2014
Edward C. Driscoll, on Nov. 18, 2019. Charles Joseph Hoover, on Feb. 11, 2020.
1948
Jacob Snipes, on April 22, 2020.
1957 George S. Meinel, on Feb. 4, 2020. Luken W. Potts, on Nov. 10, 2019.
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Class Notes MARRIAGES 2004 Allison Kessler OPC ’04 married Brandon Shockley OPC ’05 on Dec. 14, 2019, in Philadelphia. Pictured, from back left: Vince Johnson OPC ’04, Adam Shelly OPC ’04, Dan Mozes OPC ’04, Mason Lane OPC ’03, Matthew Kessler OPC ’99, Brandon Shockley OPC ’05, Julien Franklin OPC ’05, Nick Brown OPC ’05, Matt Eshelman OPC ’05, Jessica Stone OPC ’11. Middle row: Leigh Anetor-Jamison OPC ’04, Haley Mufson Fiebach OPC ’04, Julia Soffa OPC ’04, Holly Alderman OPC ’04, Young-Min Kim OPC ’99, Allison Kessler OPC ’04, Dominque Negron Franklin OPC ’04. Front: Kyle Born OPC ’05 and Darryl J. Ford Hon. 1689.
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2008
2013
Sierra Tishgart married Galen Hill on Oct. 5, 2019, in New York City. Pictured, from left: Rosa Samuels, Alexandra L. Olsman, Sierra Tishgart, Caroline Wilkes. Tishgart is profiled on page 13.
Emma Higgins married Joseph Musumeci on May 18, 2019 in Villanova. Classmates pictured, from left: Marlaina Stuve, Caitlyn Farrell and Ani Shug. Allen Steere OPC ’66 also attended.
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Class Notes BIRTHS 2001 Payton Cora, to Melissa and Brock Atkins, on May 2, 2019. Pictured: Payton with Jonas (age 3) and Parker (age 2).
2004
2005
Archer Fitzgerald (Archie), to Kirk and Megan (Kaesshaefer) Jones, on March 2, 2020.
Jarrett, to Bari and Alex S. Weiner, on Nov. 15, 2019.
2008 Cyrus Shelby (Cy), to John and Laura (Kaesshaefer) Murphy, on Jan. 1, 2020.
Mackenzie Rose, to Rebecca Foley Williams and Spencer Williams, on Oct. 10, 2019.
2002 Wiley Affleck Fitz, to Jane H. Affleck and Pete Fitz on July 11, 2019.
2009 Everly Catherine, to Kelly and Robert Smyth, on Feb. 3, 2020.
Charles “Charlie,” to Anthony and Sarah Sepe, on Aug. 29, 2019.
AJ, to Rachel and Robert D. Amaro, on July 6, 2019. (Pictured with grandfather David M. Amaro OPC ’80.)
SPRING 2020 •
47
Jenn Weiner P ’19, ’22,
Adam Myrick P ’23:
wife of Glenn Weiner OPC ’87: social worker, nursing home
essential worker, Amtrak
Anthony Lanfranco P ’17, ’22: physician, interventional Immunology and critical care, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Nadine Nelson P ’17, ’20: telemetry registered nurse, Philadelphia Veterans Medical Center
P C PA R E N T S:
ESSENTIAL TO US ALL Hundreds of Penn Charter parents are first responders and essential workers responding to the COVID -19 crisis. With just a few representative examples, we wish to honor their service and extend heartfelt thanks for their strength amid this storm.
Laurie Carter P ’20, Thomas Ditro, and Joseph Carter P ’20, mother, brother and father of Kait Carter: police officers, City of Philadelphia
48
•
SPRING 2020
Sophia Veasey, grandmother of senior Emily Spencer: head chef, Popi’s Restaurant
Bob Toomey P ’23: fire fighter, Philadelphia Fire Department and Pennsylvania Task Force for Urban Search and Rescue.
Richard Sax P ’20: volunteer EMT, Narberth Ambulance Company
Student artwork is always a bright spot in school hallways and, with the pivot to distance learning, the student work now brightens our days via social media and other online platforms. Inspired by prompts from their Visual Arts teachers: • Lower School students created flowers inspired by Georgia O’Keefe. Be sure to check out @pclowerschoolart for many more great works by Lower School artists! • Sixth graders created personal reflections under the heading “Hopes, Memories, Dreams” and eighth graders created works inspired by cubism, murals and street art. • In Upper School, photography students worked together—but from their own homes—and independently to create work inspired by Ansel Adams, David Hockney, Rinko Kawauchi, Phillipe Halsman and others. The class shared its work via Instagram @pcphotog8, often asking questions about process and encouraging each other. World Theater students used available templates to create paper depictions of characters in an Indonesian shadow puppet play based on the Ramayana (a Sanskrit epic).
Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage
PAID Philadelphia, PA Permit No. 6118
3000 West School House Lane Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19144
Stay Connected For the long view, the short view, and for event updates and information, rely on penncharter.com, plus @penncharter and @penncharterOPC on Twitter and Instagram. And follow us on Facebook. As teaching and learning shifted online amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Penn Charter students and faculty adapted to the new routine quickly. Middle School math teacher Pete Shaifer OPC '82 uses a good old-fashioned chalkboard to help seventh grade students learn how to calculate the volume of several shapes like pyramids and cylinders.
