Solebury School Summer 2012 Magazine

Solebury School

Magazine Summer 2012

www.solebury.org

What’s Inside

Focus on Faculty

4

Global Learning

10

Focus on Alumni 12 Alma

14

Summer 2012

In this issue of Solebury School’s Alumni Magazine, readers will get to know the Foreign Language department faculty. The Foreign Language department offers courses in Spanish, French, and Mandarin Chinese. Teachers stress active communication, and work to develop students’ skills in listening, speaking, reading, writing, and cultural awareness. The faculty believes that practical, real-life language experience is a wonderful complement to the classroom, and in this issue you will read about some of those opportunities for international travel. Students are required to complete French III or Spanish III, but students with a passion for a foreign language are encouraged to continue their studies. The advanced levels, IV and higher, allow students to pursue advanced communication skills and more in-depth cultural studies, including literature, film, and various media. The Advanced Placement curricula have been approved by the College Board, and in many cases a successful year in an AP language class will afford a student some college credit while still in high school.

Readers will get to know alumna Hope Newhouse ’02, who was inspired to study French here and in college, and currently lives in France. Also in these pages, alumni will find the latest news from Reunion Weekend 2012 and the traditional Alma updates.

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A Note from

Tom Wilschutz–Head of School

As the school year begins, I find myself examining the Solebury experience. In the four years since arriving at Solebury, I’ve learned much about what makes this school special. From alumni, from former and current teachers, from our parents and from my day to day interactions with our students, everyone believes that Solebury is unique, special, different.

But doesn’t every school believe itself to be unique?

What makes Solebury different? Here I would guess the answers may vary widely.

By dint of training, or perhaps personality, I tend to think answers to such questions come in multiple rather than singular causes, so I would draw attention to the following combination: our setting; our teachers; our culture of authenticity.

The four founders of Solebury hoped the lessons, the environment and the outcomes of the summer camp experience where they first hatched their idea of founding a school would translate into a more formal school setting. But they also knew for their venture to have any hope of success, the setting was key. Solebury opened in 1925 on a location about a mile from where we are today while they searched for the perfect location. Their vision has been born out for nearly 90 years as students have come of age on the rolling grounds of the Solebury campus. Nestled among the farms and wildlife and woods of Pennsylvania, the setting could not be more ideal. It is an environment that beckons – come, relax, enjoy, open your mind and think, create, understand.

For decades, men and women have made their way to the corner of Phillips Mill and School Lane, put down roots, and engaged the lofty work of teaching young men and women skills and content. They have instilled values and molded character, preparing them for lives of engagement, productivity and responsibility. All as means to an end we hope for everyone – happiness.

Here the cause and effect get a bit murky. Do we attract

a fabulous faculty because of our setting and our culture, or is the faculty the causal agent. The answer is elusive, but it is not a difficult conclusion to reach that once set in motion, the effects become self-perpetuating.

Our alumni and our students draw attention to their teachers as the key ingredient in their Solebury School education. Whether you watch the graduation video on our website or read about our foreign language teachers in this issue of the magazine, or if you’re alumni, revisit your own memories of the years you strolled the footpaths of Solebury, the message is the same – Solebury teachers are the difference for our students.

To this powerful mix of setting and teachers we add a final ingredient, an inclusive place to learn. We offer our students a place where they realize they can be who they are, and know they will be supported and valued. The various masks that young people often feel they must wear to find acceptance, popularity, safety – all these masks can be shed at Solebury in favor of their authentic selves. Imagine being able to come of age in this setting, inspired and cared for by teachers who genuinely like young people, and to be able to live your life, not the life you feel you must project to others.

I hope you enjoy the articles, pictures, and memories we offer you in this edition of the Solebury School Magazine. Its stories will reinforce Solebury’s unique setting, its special teachers and its accepting approach, so different from many students’ experiences in school.

There are many ways to stay in touch with Solebury School. Please join in the conversation on the school’s Facebook and Twitter pages, or take a look at the YouTube Channel to see lots of fun videos of school performances and more. The school’s website offers visitors up-to-date information about school events and news. ❖

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Focus on Faculty Steve Benoit

_________________________ “I am a firm believer that a healthy community will lead to a healthy learning environment, and that all of these areas go hand in hand with the classroom.”

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“My passion for French is in my blood,” said Steve Benoit, Solebury School’s Foreign Language department chair. “My father is 100 percent Cajun French, born and raised in Louisiana. Although I grew up in the northeastern U.S., throughout my childhood, my family would go to visit my grandmother, aunts and uncles in the Louisiana bayou fairly frequently. I remember being fascinated by the language they were speaking. As I entered 8th grade, when given the choice, I jumped at the chance to study French, and I have never stopped since.”

Steve attended Penn State University as an undergraduate, where he studied Communications and French. His junior year abroad at L’Université des Sciences Humaines de Strasbourg was a transformative year for him.

It was then that Steve realized he was a linguist, and that he would always be doing something with the French language.

After earning his Bachelor of Arts degree, he worked full time while studying education at West Chester University, and then decided to earn a Master’s in French Literature. He was awarded a full fellowship and graduate teaching assistantship at the University of Texas at Austin, and graduated in 1994. His two areas of focus were 19th century French literature, and Francophone literature, that is, literature written in French but not by French writers.

Steve has spent extensive time in France, and goes back every chance he gets.

“The art, literature, food, culture, and people inspire me,” said Steve. “Paris is my favorite city in the world. It’s magical. I’ve been fortunate to spend time in other French speaking parts of the world, including Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Québec.”

Sharing the French language and culture is very important to Steve.

“I believe that learning another language opens doors for students in the future, be it in study abroad programs or in professional

opportunities after college. Learning a language challenges the brain in a way that other disciplines do not. It is a wonderful blend of verbal and problem-solving skills. One of the most rewarding things I’ve experienced as a teacher came from a student just recently, as we travelled to a French school for spring break. It suddenly dawned on this student that he was no longer translating as he listened and spoke, read and wrote. He was shocked and delighted, as was I, that he was functioning completely in French.”

While Steve has shared his love of language with students from elementary age through college, “I came to the conclusion some time ago that I love teaching teenagers the most. I enjoy the upper levels because that offers me the opportunity to teach literature and film, but I also enjoy teaching beginners and every level in between.”

For Steve, travel and immersion are the best ways to renew his passion for French and generate new ideas for the classroom.

Solebury School offers students many opportunities to use foreign language on a practical level. For example, Steve leads a trip to a French-speaking country each year, allowing students the chance to apply what they have learned in the classroom to real life. In addition, as department chair, Steve works with fellow language teachers to embrace a communicative approach to the language so that students are able to understand a language in its classroom context, and use it to communicate more fluently with native speakers.

At Solebury, Steve is also passionate about the advising and diversity programs and he takes part in professional development around these two areas as well.

“I am a firm believer that a healthy community will lead to a healthy learning environment, and that all of these areas go hand in hand with the classroom.”

While Steve will continue as the school’s Foreign Language department head, French teacher, Director of Advising, and advisor to the Spectrum and Diversity clubs, he has now replaced Steve Buteux as the school’s Director of Studies, a role in which he will oversee the academic side of the school, and be the primary conduit for parent relations on academic issues and working with students on building their academic program. ❖

Faculty Enrichment Award Announced This year, Steve was awarded Solebury School’s John and Linda Brown Faculty Enrichment Award.

This award allows the honored faculty member to pursue a personal interest that serves to enrich his or her experience as a teacher. The funds may be used in a way that directly relates to a teacher’s academic field or more generally by stimulating his or her creativity and enthusiasm as a teacher, learner, and citizen of the world. This endowment was established in 2008

by Solebury School’s Home and School Association to honor John D. Brown ’67, Head of School, 1989 – 2008, and Linda Brown, Director of Advancement, 1989 – 2008, for their years of dedicated service.

Steve likes to continually expand his French experiences and was very interested in pursuing a journey to one of the most remote areas of the world where French is spoken, French Polynesia. Its unspoiled beauty, rich culture and complex relationship with France intrigued him. Each year he teaches about Tahiti and French Polynesia, and each year, it reignites his desire to experience these islands.

As a student of French literature and culture, Steve said he always felt a more intimate understanding of an artist when he had the chance to roam the same lands that the artist once roamed. His travels through Normandy gave him a stronger appreciation for Maupassant. His time in Guadeloupe deepened his connection to Maryse Condé. His journey to Martinique led to a real passion for Aimé Césaire. He wanted to explore the culture of French Polynesia first hand, in order to feel the inspiration behind the art and literature he has devoured for so many years.

In July, Steve’s journey started in Papeete (the capital of Tahiti). From there, he toured the Society Islands that were visited by French explorers and artists, which provided him a first-hand look at those places that inspired their creativity and imaginations.

Steve felt this would also allow him to interact with the people and experience the culture of the islands.

He wanted to use his French in an authentic setting and learn Polynesian French expressions and idioms.

When he discusses the culture of Québec and the French Caribbean with students, he is able to share vocabulary and accents from these regions that are distinctly different from what they’re exposed to in the textbooks. He believes his students realize that French truly is a worldwide language, as is English, and that depending on where they travel or what kind of work they do, they may very well find French useful in the future. ❖

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Christine Le Gall

Christine Le Gall (center) works with ESL students

French teacher Christine Le Gall is a scholar and a linguist, and she truly loves teaching.

“Solebury School is a great place to teach and learn languages,” said Christine. “Our class sizes are perfect. I know my students quite well, we respect each other and we learn from each other. We have computers, online textbooks, movies, and a brand new language lab. Our teachers are extremely well educated and fluent in the language they teach, whether they be native speakers or not.”

Christine was born in France, but her grandparents came from many different countries including France, Italy, Russia, Tatar, Malta, and Germany. Her diverse bloodline resulted in extensive travel in Europe, and her passion to learn about other cultures and languages. She lived in Germany for two years when she was young, and with each country she visited, she found she had the desire to learn more.

“I learned to speak some German the first time I visited Germany. I started learning English when I was 12, because I traveled to England with my school. I studied German and Latin when I was 14. I went to England and to Germany every other year. I learned Russian when I went to College. I studied and was trained to teach French, and then taught French at the University of Houston for three years. I taught English as a part-time teacher at the Sorbonne Nouvelle, and Paris X University. I also taught senior citizens in Le Raincy, and I taught pre-schoolers in Toulouse.”

Christine holds an Associate’s degree in Russian, a BA in English with a minor in German, and three graduate degrees which include a Master’s in American Literature, with a minor in German, a Master’s in French Literature, and a DEA or Diplôme d’études appliquées, 6 ❖ Solebury School Magazine Summer 2012

Christine, center, with her French I class at the French Bakery, C’est La Vie in New Hope

which is the first step towards a doctorate. Christine has completed all of her PhD courses and wrote the outline for her dissertation in Comparative Linguistics, at the Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris. She also holds “Aggregation” from l’Ecole Normale Superieure, the highest teaching qualification one can achieve in France.

“I believe teaching languages helps bring down walls between people, walls of mistrust and misunderstanding.

I believe traveling with our students all over the world to meet people their age will help them expand their horizon and bring down prejudices,” said Christine.

When teaching a Middle School class in France, Christine took her students to Hamburg, Germany.

They did not speak German but communicated with their German friends in English.

“It was an eye opening experience for my students,” said Christine. “It taught them tolerance.”

Christine takes her teaching seriously but she always has a smile on her face and a kind word for those she meets around campus. She likes to bring French culture to her students outside of the classroom as well. During weekend duty, Christine often makes crepes with the boarding students, or drives her classes down to nearby New Hope to have tasty pastries and croissants at the local French bakery, C’est La Vie. Christine teaches all levels of French at Solebury School and is currently working with science department head William Collier to spearhead the school’s student exchange program to foreign countries, with plans in the works for an exchange with France and Germany.

“Our new exchange program with France is definitely an asset to Solebury. It will give our students a unique chance to make true friends on the other side of the ocean.” ❖

Nathan Turner Spanish teacher Nathan Turner was born and raised in Bucks County, and graduated from Central Bucks West High School in 1994. It was during high school when his future came into sharp focus. He was accepted as an international foreign exchange student through the Rotary Exchange program to Venezuela, South America. For 11 months, he stayed with three host families, getting an authentic experience living in a foreign country immersed in its culture. He fell in love with the Spanish language and the path for his studies and career were set.

He returned to the U.S. and attended Temple University, where he earned a BA in Spanish, Linguistics and Cultural Anthropology, then continued on to complete a Masters in Foreign Language, Secondary Education and Curriculum Planning. Last year, he finished the first half of a second Masters in Spanish Literature and Language at the University of Solamanca in Spain.

Nathan loves to visit Spanish speaking countries.

“I have traveled to Spain five times. I’ve been to Costa Rica to do a program for teachers specializing in Foreign Language Methodology. I’ve also traveled to the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico three times, and other Spanish speaking countries.”

Nathan says it is his own intrinsic motivation for learning the language that motivates him to not only seek out native Spanish speakers, but also his students. Teaching the language and immersing himself in a Spanish speaking country deepens his understanding and makes him feel like he is one with the culture, strengthening his communication skills.

“That immersion enhances my skill set in the classroom and also makes me feel like I’m bringing a more authentic experience to my students when I’m bringing something that is native, that is rich, and that is current.”

When Nathan realizes his upper level students have reached proficiency, he feels his job is done. More specifically, he knows he has given them a solid foundation upon which to build, grow, and evolve as a Spanish language learner.

“I think Solebury does a wonderful job in giving students opportunities to take different languages, and having the different levels of study to differentiate student abilities only strengthens the school curriculum. The foreign exchange trip taken this year to France and the trips that are being developed for next year will definitely enhance the foreign language experience for our students. We’re fortunate to have such a strong group working together to raise the quality of the language department as a whole.”

Nathan said, as a man of color, he is pleased to see the wide range of diversity in our students, as well as the organized affinity groups on campus.

“I enjoy my participation in the affinity groups, especially Black Friday, a group for students who identify as AfricanAmerican, because I believe it’s a wonderful outlet for students of color to have. They know that they are in a minority group on campus, and this group provides a safe place and a safe haven for them to share questions, concerns, and to share things with someone who looks like them.”

Nathan went on to say that independent school culture is unique in that “it is often challenging for people who identify as ‘other.’ This could fall under any category, whether it’s socio-economic status, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other attribute or character trait that makes someone classified as ‘other.’ My involvement in the Black Friday Affinity group really allows these students to feel a great sense of comfort, and a greater sense of camaraderie and direction on campus.”

Nathan teaches Spanish I, III, and IV. He lives on campus and is the assistant tennis coach and faculty advisor for the Black Friday and Diversity Affinity groups.

Tennis is Nathan’s greatest passion. He plays several times a week in a league and has a United States Tennis Association rating of 4.5. He loves watching professional tennis tournaments and often talks about it and his favorite players, the Williams sisters and Maria Sharapova. He uses tennis as a reference point when he’s teaching Spanish grammar. As assistant coach for the school’s tennis team, he takes great joy in helping our student tennis athletes improve their games. Another one of Nathan’s passions is traveling. “I love to see new places and I love delicious food as well, in particular, vegetarian cuisine.” He also loves spending time with family and friends. ❖

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Mariana Makoon-Singh “When I was in high school, my language teachers did not speak the language in class all the time,” said Solebury Spanish teacher Mariana Makoon-Singh. “I took 11 years of French and I can’t speak French fluently, and that was always a very sad thing for me.”

Although Mariana did not learn to speak fluent French, she is bilingual with two native first languages, Spanish and English.

When she went to Spain for the first time in 2008, Mariana discovered a better way, the way she preferred to teach languages.

“The teachers trained their students by speaking slowly, using pictures, and different types of tools to help students to understand you without directly translating, though direct translation was used with the younger newer students.”

Mariana did not start her career as a language teacher. She received her BS in Psychology in 2001 at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. She began work as a teaching assistant for children with behavioral issues for three years and found the one on one with these students to be very difficult.

While teaching, she met a friend who was working as an interpreter, loved the idea, had the ability and quickly jumped on the opportunity. She has been a freelance interpreter for about 10 years, working for the Philadelphia Court system and other language services on arbitrations, negotiations, depositions, and independent medical examinations.

Interpreting has expanded Mariana’s love of language. It’s challenged her to think on her feet, translating so that the other person understands what’s being said. She admits she wasn’t saying every word exactly, but was getting the meaning perfectly across. She’s met people from Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Argentina, and she quickly learned that each region has its own approach to Spanish.

“Every time I go back and interpret, it helps me see how the language has evolved over time,” said Mariana. “It helps my teaching because I can help the children when they ask why we say things a certain way. I can share that experience. They need to be aware of the differences. Every country has a different way of speaking the language. The major skeleton and muscles of the language are the same, but it’s the skin that’s sometimes a little different.”

Working as an interpreter and translator allowed Mariana to finish her studies as a certified language teacher. It was that trip to Spain with her sister when she fell in love with the country. She returned to Spain every chance she had, specifically to Madrid, and found it was a hot market for native English speakers. She looked for a place with a program to teach English, and was lucky to land a job in Madrid teaching ESL and Spanish.

Mariana points out one of the more important reasons to learn Spanish, the fact that it is quickly becoming the second most spoken language in the U.S. “There are so many things you can do now if you are able to speak Spanish, especially in Europe. It’s silly not to learn it.”

Mariana wants to share with her students the teaching experience she had in Spain, to get them as excited about learning Spanish as she was.

“I believe you understand and appreciate your own language better when you learn another one,” said Mariana. “There was an article in the New York Times newspaper about bilingualism and the fact that you use a higher percentage of your brain the more languages you speak. Learning another language is also a tool to access different cultures and different people. For example, if you know another language, then you can appreciate a movie in that language, or a poem, a short story, and you ultimately have access to many more ideas.”

Mariana plans to help expand Solebury’s Spanish program this year. She leads flamenco dancing, and has organized trips to Spanish group events in Philadelphia, and brought students to the Oral Proficiency Expo in Philadelphia as well. She arranged for Spanish students to take the National Spanish Exam, a first for Solebury students. Many of the students scored well and won awards and recognition. This is Mariana’s second year at Solebury School. She lives on campus and teaches Spanish I and II. ❖

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Nancy Lee She likes the experience of teaching language.

“I feel wonderful that I can help people learn Chinese or English, people like me, who enjoy traveling “Through this window you and want to be able to communicate in a different language if necessary,” said see the world, you learn a Nancy. “For people who don’t know language. Through the each other and for people from foreign language classes, different countries, being able to you see European countries, communicate in a common language brings the distance closer. I always like you learn Chinese, and to use my experience of traveling in my through that window, you teaching. For example, in a country’s culture, they may not like a certain see Asia.” kind of menu or Eastern food, and as a traveler, or a visitor in a country, I can teach them how to accept it or how to say no. I help to bridge the gap of the different cultures.”

Nancy said she has benefitted in so many ways from learning English, and now she had the chance to come to When Nancy Lee arrived in the U.S. from Taiwan, she a place such as the U.S. and likes it. immediately immersed herself in American culture. She “I have the language ability to speak to Americans or already knew English, mandatory in Taiwan schools English speaking people. This earned me an opportunity because, she said, they want their citizens and future to study, find a job and stay here. It’s the same for me generations to connect with the world. when I travel to Europe and other English speaking American culture is very different. So the first thing countries. I hope to share my knowledge of Chinese Nancy did was enroll in an English class where she language and culture to help younger generations who learned how to speak with an American accent. Part of wish to travel to Asia and speak Mandarin.” this education was learning some expressions that don’t Nancy believes Solebury School offers students a always translate literally. For example, her teacher once window to learn a foreign language. said to the class, Take some time to smell the flowers. Nancy “Through this window you see the world, you learn a decided she would. She found some flowers, put her nose language. Through the foreign language classes, you see very close and inhaled deeply to smell them. The next European countries, you learn Chinese, and through that thing she knew, she was sneezing and her eyes were teary window, you see Asia.” from the pollen. This lasted a few days. She realized two In her spare time, she enjoys walking, bird watching, things. First, she was allergic to the flowers. Second, Take and people watching. She likes to watch all types of some time to smell the flowers, was an expression that meant sporting events and enjoys the National Geographic to slow down and enjoy your life. programs because she likes to travel.

Nancy Lee was born and raised in Taiwan, also called Nancy teaches Chinese I and II. This is Nancy’s second the Republic of China. She attended school through year at Solebury. She has been teaching Chinese as a college in Taiwan and, after graduating, she taught two Second Language since 1989. ❖ years in a Taiwanese high school there. In 1991, she came to the U.S. to attend Philadelphia University where she earned an MBA. She’s remained in the U.S. ever since.

Nancy has traveled to many countries in Europe and also to mainland China. She speaks Mandarin (the official language of China), Taiwanese, Cantonese, and English.

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Global Learning International Travel Program at

Solebury School

International Programs Nicaragua December 2012 Québec, Canada February 2013 Hamburg, Germany March 2013

French teacher Steve Benoit snow tubing with students in Québec.

Thanks to the efforts of French teacher Christine Le Gall and science department head William Collier, Solebury School’s international exchange program has expanded this year. The school will offer a number of opportunities for our students who wish to expand their language speaking skills, serve the community, and learn more about other cultures.

The program kicks off with a one week trip to Nicaragua from December 27, 2012 to January 3, 2013. The goal is to provide students with an intense immersion experience in Spanish language and Nicaraguan culture, along with meaningful community service work. The group will visit a Spanish language school, community outreach center, and eco-

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hotel, La Mariposa, which is located in the pueblo of San Juan de la Concepcion.

Students will have the choice between a homestay, which is a great opportunity to practice Spanish and to get to know the Nicaraguan people, and staying in the dormitory of La Mariposa’s new learning center.

Participants will also have a number of

choices in regard to community service work, everything from working in a daycare center to enriching a community garden. In all cases, their advisors will be local people who will help them with their Spanish. During their week in Nicaragua, they will spend a day and night at El Nisperal, an organic coffee plantation and research center. The December-January dates will allow them to take part in the harvest.

In February 2013, a group of French students and several faculty members will travel to Québec, Canada to experience the fantastic winter Carnival. The group will enjoy dog sledding, snow shoeing, and snow tubing. They will spend an evening at a traditional maple sugar shack for food and music. They will visit some great sites in the old city of Québec and the surrounding countryside, including Les Chutes de Montmorency, a waterfall higher than Niagara Falls. Of course, they will exercise their French language skills.

Also new this year is an exchange program with the Helmuth Huebener School in Hamburg, Germany, similar to our very successful exchange this past school year with the St. Christophe School in Toulouse, France. Our students are welcome to sign up soon for the 10 day trip to Hamburg that will take place from March 15 to March 25, 2013. William and Christine both speak German, and will be leading the trip.

In Hamburg, students will explore its architectural and historical landmarks, its famous harbor, and spend a day at the school where they will attend classes. They will take a trip to the Baltic sea, visit Luebeck, and travel to Berlin. The week in Germany will allow students and faculty to develop new friendships, give them a different historical perspective on Germany, give them insights in the many ways the Germanys protect their environment, and provide them with a perspective on cities as well as farming and fishermen villages. In April 2013, ten students and teacher Anne Mehler, will come to Solebury School from Hamburg.

The school will also participate in a smaller exchange with the St. Christophe School in Toulouse, France. Two Solebury School students will study there for a month, and two of their students will come to Solebury School and study here for a month. This is an extension of our larger-scale exchange with St. Christophe in the spring of 2012, when 14 Solebury students visited their campus, and 15 St. Christophe students visited ours. We will do another large-scale exchange like this in 2014. ❖

Our French Exchange Students had a chance to tour Washington, D.C.

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Focus on Alumni Hope Newhouse ’02

A Personal Introduction

__________________________ I came to Solebury in 10th grade, took three years of French and, starting junior year, two years of Spanish. By the time I got to senior year, I had already taken AP French Language, and Steve Benoit was forced to, and I mean, kind enough to create an AP Literature class solely for me and one other advanced student.

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I’ve been in love with the French language ever since first grade. My teacher would make us hold hands, count to three (un, deux, trois) and pretend to be in France. He would read books or teach us songs, and we used pictures to learn vocabulary: colors, food, etc. We called the teacher Madame Chips (pronounced sheeps) because ‘chips’ was our favorite vocabulary word and because when you’re a kid, nothing’s funnier than calling a man “Mrs.” Solebury teachers are right to avoid this dilemma by using first names.

One of the few good memories I have of the all-girls Catholic middle school was my tiny, loud-mouthed French teacher. Her Jewish parents had snuck out of France with her right before World War II and made it to the U.S. Every time we mixed up et (and) with est (is), she would call us donkeys and make us stand in the trashcan.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that foreign language teachers are nuts. I will not embarrass them with specifics (Steve Benoit and Bill Christy, you owe me one), but Solebury is no exception and I’m sure any Solebury student would agree. Then again, one of the best things about Solebury is that all the teachers are slightly nuts but so are the students, so that usually works out all right.

I came to Solebury in 10th grade, took three years of French and, starting junior year, two years of Spanish. By the time I got to senior year, I had already taken AP French Language, and Steve Benoit was forced to, and I mean, kind enough to create an AP Literature class solely for me and one other advanced student. I don’t think I fully realized at the time how lucky I was to have this almost-private tutoring. I do know we had a lot of fun in that class reading texts from famous French authors and discussing how to find the “beau dans le laid” or was it the “lait dans le bol.” We were never quite sure. If my first grade teacher gave me an emotional attachment to French, Steve Benoit infected me with the intellectual curiosity about French grammar, French culture and French literature that I still possess today. Where teachers at previous schools often held me to the rhythm of the class (much too slow!), Steve was often one step ahead of me, suggesting new things to learn.

Besides being fun, AP French Lit was extremely good preparation for college literature classes, which I threw myself into as soon as I got to Skidmore College. In my senior year, I wrote a thesis on translation, analyzing and retranslating parts of the play La Guerre de trois n’aura pas lieu by Jean Giroudoux, which I had originally read with Steve in AP French Lit. I graduated summa cum laude with a major in French Literature and a minor in Creative Writing.

Much to the consternation of my French Thesis Advisor (another nutty professor who once came into class having accidentally worn a boot on one foot and a clog on the other), I decided not to apply for masters programs in linguistics but to go to theater school instead.

My dream had always been acting, something I did a lot of at Solebury and during summers in NYC during college, and I had planned to move to New York and do a conservatory program there. If there’s anything I’ve learned in life so far, it is that life doesn’t give a fig for your plans.

During my junior year abroad in France, I fell in love, and I ended up moving to Paris instead of NYC and enrolling in a theater school there.

The classes in acting school were easy to follow. After all, I had experience in French classes, but the socializing was exhausting. Every one would talk at once about TV shows I hadn’t seen, politicians I didn’t know, all using confusing vernacular, often involving verlan. In the French slang verlan, the syllables of a word are inversed. Someone might say they are vénère if they are énervé (annoyed), or tell you your new purse is chome if they find it moche (ugly).

Now, as I act in different types of productions, I have the opportunity to further increase my vocabulary and style of expression. I’ve been in shows that range from medieval farce, to the poetic texts of Paul Claudel, to contemporary drama, to children’s theater. I work almost entirely with French theater troupes, although I do voiceover and dubbing in English for ads, documentaries and institutional films. There are certainly things I miss about living in the U.S., after almost six years of living in Paris, but I can safely say I’ve left the honeymoon phase and sincerely love living here.

I’m lucky in that my parents come to visit me here, and many of my American friends eventually pass through Paris as well. Whenever Steve Benoit comes over, I steal him away from the Solebury students for an hour to have a drink in a café and catch up. Last time, he even managed to talk me into giving the students an impromptu tour of my favorite streets in my neighborhood of Montmartre. Considering I actually owe him one for being such a dedicated teacher and a good friend, I guess it’s only fair. ❖

Hope is performing in a medieval farce at an outdoor theater in Montmartre–Parish, France.

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Alumni Alumni Reunion Weekend 2012

Alumni gathered for a Memorial Service on Saturday morning during Reunion weekend

Solebury School welcomed back over 100 alumni in early May for Reunion Weekend 2012. It was wonderful to see representatives from the 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40 and 45th Reunion Classes and hear them reminisce about their high school experience and reconnect with old friends. But it was clear that the 1950s and 60s classes ruled the weekend. There were more than 50 alumni represented in those two decades with 20 from the class of 1962 alone! It would also be remiss not to give a special nod to Tom Cooper ’41, the true veteran of the weekend, and to Chris White ’62 who came all the way from Australia. Sally Bowie ’62, Toni Peters ’62 and Chuck Schwartz ’52 rallied great numbers from their classes and era to join them for a very special weekend. Many thanks.

The weekend began with a reception at the home of Tom and Rebecca Wilschutz, followed by dinner at Hotel du Village, aka lower campus. On Saturday, there was a peaceful and intimate service in the Memorial Garden behind the Founders Library, great meals and conversation in the Herbert Boyd Dining Hall, and a big crowd assembled to honor Bill Berkeley ’49, Neil MacLean ’52, Barbara Johnstone ’55, and the 1997 – 98 Solebury School’s Boys Basketball Team at the Athletic Hall of Fame Ceremony. Folks also found time for the Burger and Beer Bash to relax with friends, faculty and staff. The weekend’s highlight was Solebury’s Cinco De Mayo Dinner Auction, which raised over $100,000.

As a result, the weekend was lovely and of course it was lively right to the end. Thank you to everyone who attended and participated in the fun. ❖

14 ❖ Solebury School Magazine Summer 2012

Solebury School’s Class of 1962 (from left) David Johnson ’62, Toni Peters ’62, Peter Ricker ’62, Kristina Ward Turechek ’62, Chris White ’62, Mary Ellen Martindale ’62, Sally Ellyson ’62, Will Morgan ’62, Sally Bowie ‘62, Tracy Bowman, Bohne Fetzer ’62, Lawrence Medoff ’62, John James ’62, Kakie Siebel Kunhiraman ’62, Peter Funk ’62, Alexa Ward McDonough ’62, Stacey Smith Baum ’62, Evan Root ’62 and Jon McCook ’62

(From left) Bill Berkeley ’49, Tom Cooper ’41 and Tek Telmont ’49

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(From Left) Dirk Richter ’54, Betsy Meredith, David Mueller ’52, Bob Stockton ’58, Jean Shaw, Chuch Schwartz ’52, Ann Bassett, Wistar Silver ’59, Diana Lippincott ’52, Neil MacLean ’52, Polly Evans Leshan ’54, Dick Walsh ’52 and Mike Sienkiewicz

(From left) Lisa Toron, David Toron ’82, Laryssa Clark ’83 (and guest) and Lisa Platt-Saleh ’82, and Karna Saleh

16 ❖ Solebury School Magazine Summer 2012

Solebury School Athletic Hall of Fame

Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees Announced In May, Solebury School honored this year’s inductees at its 3rd Annual Athletic Hall of Fame Awards.

The 2012 inductees: Bill Berkeley ’49 Neil MacLean ’52 Barbara Montagu Johnstone ’55 1997-98 Solebury School’s Boys Basketball Team Jordan Brown Carlton Carter Gerald Clark Henry Antawn Dobie Greg Jenkins David Novak Hiroyoshi Saito Eric Stanley Akeem Vaught Kendall Wynder Head Coach Cleve Christie Assistant Coach Jim Coulter

Save the Date: Alumni Reunion Weekend, May 3, 4, 5, 2013

Purpose The Solebury School Hall of Fame was created to recognize and honor studentathletes, exceptional teams, coaches, and other members of the school community who have made outstanding contributions to its athletic program.

Qualifications 1. A nominee must be an alumnus or alumna of the Solebury School. Coaches and other community members with extraordinary cases may also be considered.

2. Eligibility for admission begins: a. In the fifth (5) year after the nominee graduates; b. Reaches retirement after coaching; or c. Has been actively involved in the athletic program for at least twenty (20) years.

3. Selection is based primarily on athletic accomplishments while at the Solebury School. Subsequent achievements in athletics and other areas may also be taken into consideration.

Nomination Process 1. Any member of the following constituency may nominate: alumni, family of alumni, current and former faculty and staff, current and former trustees.

2. A nomination form is available on our website: www.solebury.org. Nominations may also be sent to Robert Eichem, Director of Athletics, at 6832 Phillips Mill Road, New Hope, PA, 18938. The deadline for submitting nominations is October 15 of each school year.

3. The Selection Committee meets during the school year. The Committee consists of two or more permanent members and includes current and former Directors of Athletics and the current Director of Advancement, and no more than four rotating members (each serving a 3-year term) selected from among the following groups: the former Heads of School, former Directors of Advancement, current and retired coaches, and current and former trustees.

www.solebury.org

Bill Berkeley ’49 – (left) received his award from former Head of School and alumnus John Brown ’67

Mike Sienkiewicz ’56 presented Barbara Johnstone ’55 her award

18 ❖ Solebury School Magazine Summer 2012

Neil Maclean ’52 (left) was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2010 but received his award this year from alumnus Chuck Schwartz ’52

Boys Basketball coach Cleve Christie with some of the 1997-98 Boys Basketball team, (from left) Gregory Jenkins ’01, Gyl Vaught ’99, Kendall Wynder ’99, Carlton Carter, and Gerald Clark ’99

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Alma’s Update Summer 2012 NEWS FROM SOLEBURY ALUMNI HOLMQUIST SCHOOL FOR GIRLS 1917-1949 notably the Curt Flood case which was ultimately autobiographical essays evaluating their own lives.

decided in the U.S. Supreme Court. He is one of the Class of 1942 Joanna Seaver Hood remembers her days and innovators of baseball’s salary arbitration system, and tried, as the union’s General Counsel, the first of friends fondly in New Hope. several cases for players who could not afford or did not trust outside representation.

Class of 1945 April Blackburn Hill had a retrospective exhibition at Dick resigned in 1977, but continued serving the the Rouge Valley Manor retirement community in union as special counsel during the next three rounds of collective bargaining negotiations. He also Medford, Oregon. began representing baseball players on an individual basis, and in the years that have followed, he has Class of 1947 Anneke Prins Simons is still painting. She was a represented over 250 Major League players in former student of John Folinsbee, Oskar Kokoschk, contract matters. Among his early accomplishments and Lewis Rubenstein among others. She is also a in that regard were negotiating the first milliondollar-a-year contract in professional team sports for Professor Emeritus at New Jersey City University.

Nolan Ryan in 1979, and trying and winning the first million dollar salary arbitration case for Fernando Class of 1949 Noëlle Kennedy Masukawa writes: My Holmquist Valenzuela in 1982. experiences don’t seem that bygone, even though I In the past few years, Dick has also represented became significantly superannuated this past many prominent players in other team sports in December. Some reality set in last July when Terry arbitration regarding disputes with their former and I moved into a villa in a retirement community agents. He has also represented agents in disputes less than a mile from our home. I’m still trying to de- with other agents. accumulate the contents of the house. This endless Dick was an Adjunct Professor at the University of task is occasionally relieved when I join fellow Southern California’s law school where he taught a inhabitants for Scrabble. I remain involved with the course titled Sports and the Law. He has lectured at Cincinnati Linton Music Series now in our 31st year. many other law schools, including Harvard, Yale and It was a thrill to watch our artistic directors follow Stanford. He has also given papers at national Elmo on the tribute to Yo-Yo Ma at the Kennedy meetings of many professional organizations Center Honors 2011 show on PBS. Also, I continue to including the American Bar Association and the National Academy of Arbitrators. be active with First Unitarian Church.

Dick is a member of the board of directors of the SOLEBURY SCHOOL FOR BOYS 1925-1949 NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Sports Lawyers Association, and in Los Angeles, Today’s Fresh Start, Class of 1947 Peter Whelan is writing a new novel set in late a non-profit organization providing for tutoring of winter of 1945. It is about an American agent and his disadvantaged public school students. He also is a girlfriend. They feel the Russian Army advancing Trustee Emeritus of Solebury School. into East Prussia. The agent escapes by dreaming his way into the future as an office worker in the Class of 1949 1950s, and as a boxer in the 1960s. Sounds exciting, David Hovey tells us that all is pretty good in Savannah!

Peter!

Class of 1948 Dick Moss received the Sports Lawyers Association Award of Excellence. Previous winners include Gene Upshaw, Jerry Colangelo, and Bud Selig.

In 1963, Dick joined the legal staff of the United Steelworkers of America as the Associate General Counsel, and was placed in charge of the Union’s legal department at its International Headquarters.

When Marvin Miller, who had been the chief economic advisor for the Steelworkers, left in 1966 to become Executive Director of the new baseball players union, he asked Dick to join him as General Counsel. Together, for the next eleven years, they constituted the two-man staff of the fledgling union.

While serving as the Players Association’s lawyer, Dick was involved in all the collective bargaining negotiations and contract administration matters. He tried all the union’s grievance arbitration cases, including in 1975 the Messersmith case which ended baseball’s overly restrictive reserve system and created free agency for the players. He was also the union’s lawyer in all of its court litigation, most

It took me twenty years of my fifty-year marriage to discover how unwise it was to attempt to remake my wife. I had tried hard to turn this insightful psychotherapist, who loved spending her spare time reading novels, solving double-crostics and stitching samplers, into a sailor, kayaker, runner, and all around health nut like me. It took me longer than it should have to appreciate that my wife and I shared a love of reading, listening to music, walking together, and laughing at silliness. This discovery enabled me to prevent our marriage from falling apart and eventually made me stop trying to remake my children into their dad’s clones.

I learned also that neither could I remake my friends or students. I could influence them or sometimes even bring them around to my view (yes, Jane Austen really is worth their time) but I could not transform the core of their being. What made me even try is only a partly solved mystery. I am the child of parents who were not deeply interested in my own core, so I have no model for accepting and appreciating others. But it would be unfair to blame my failure entirely on my parents. As we experience parenthood ourselves we come to recognize that our own parents were often no less victims of their parents than we are of ours. We also learn how much our own upbringing is influenced as much by our childhood and adult companions as our parents.

As I watch my son and daughter raise my grandchildren and deal with the age-old issues of sibling rivalry and adolescent rebellion and the current ones of internet exposure, and the vastly increased preoccupation with safety, (no biking without helmets please) I have to recognize how rightly powerless I am to intervene, except in the most benign way.

After only seventy-four years I’ve learned finally that who I am has far more effect on those whose lives I might hope to influence than any advice or judgment I might offer. Do I backslide into advice giving and judgment making now and then? I’m afraid so.

SOLEBURY SCHOOL 1950–PRESENT Class of 1952 David Mueller reported that on his way to a short vacation in Hawaii, Ann and he visited Tony ’54 and Laurel Gilbert at their lovely Marin County home.

Their memories enhanced, perhaps by just a little lubrication, they recalled various shared adventures of 60 or so years ago at Solebury and for a few years afterwards. All those memories made David realize that his really good friendship with Tony was one of the best things to come out of his experience at Solebury.

Mike Zoob and his granddaughter, Gwendolyn were on the cover of the latest Road Scholar (formally Elderhostel) catalogue. Here is the link to the full article.

Class of 1954 http://www.roadscholar.org/about/20questions32.asp David Leshan And an excerpt: “It was not yet noon, but the The following was submitted in response to New temperature inside the Grand Canyon was already York Times columnist David Brooks last October in soaring toward 100 degrees, and as the raft dipped which he asked readers over 70 to write through the rapid, the splash of the Colorado River Class of 1953 Jean Affleck invites us all to come visit Charleston and ride the free trolley.

SUMMER 2012

THE ALMA

provided welcome relief for Mike Zoob and his 9year-old granddaughter Gwendolyn. On shore minutes later, as program coordinator Garrett Roberts led the explorers up a canyon trail, Gwen caught up to him at the front of the group.

“Are we close?” she asked. Garrett nodded and said, “Any minute now.”

The group rounded a bend and Gwen gasped.

Before her, thundering into the pools below was the hidden waterfall they’d been seeking.

Ask Gwen to recount her favorite memory from her Intergenerational adventure with “grandpop” Mike Zoob and this is the story she tells. For her, it was the climax of an unforgettable adventure. For Mike it was the culmination of a week spent celebrating his bond with his granddaughter.”

Through the years, Mike has served Road Scholar in virtually every capacity, working to make its educational adventures available to an ever greater number of adults.

Class of 1958 Bob Stockton’s novel, Listening to Ghosts, won the Bronze prize in the Military Writers Society of America Award - Navy category.

Great news! There is a possible made-for-TV movie in the works as well. According to Bob, Colin Stewart, of StewArt Productions, is starting on the first part and will write 10 pages or so at a time. They have meetings on a different project with Jerry Bruckheimer and will give a preliminary pitch then.

Bob’s second book Fighting Bob is even better than his first effort (Bob’s words). Hopefully it will be in the mix for 2012 in the Historical Fiction Category.

Class of 1955 Alan Donley sends us a picture of him and Carol at the junior prom back in May of ’54.

Alan says that Carol took a train from Cleveland to Trenton and stayed overnight at a friend’s house. One of the beautiful memories from that prom was watching Frank and Maureen Ammirati (not yet married) dance. All the students stopped dancing and formed a circle around Frank and Maureen and watched in awe as they jitterbugged.

Class of 1956 Andrew Alpern was in the New York Times again.

Two years ago Columbia University’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library received 700 knickknacks and publications from the architectural historian Andrew Alpern, all related to the macabre illustrator Edward Gorey. For a show that opened, Gorey Preserved, Mr. Alpern has filled a dozen cases with his own former possessions.

He built the collection for more than 40 years, shopping mostly at the Gotham Book Mart, which is now defunct, and often asking for signatures from Gorey, who died in 2000. The gift, worth a few hundred thousand dollars, ranges from best sellers like The Doubtful Guest and ads for Dracula on Broadway to souvenir coffee mugs, T-shirts and potholders. Stuffed toys represent Gorey creatures: the faceless acrobat Figbash; the grumpy, sixlegged Bahum Bug; and the penguin-like Doubtful Guest.

Gorey, who lived in a ramshackle house on Cape Cod, famously wore lush furs. For the Columbia show, Mr. Alpern has draped a mannequin in a hooded coyote parka from the Gorey estate that cost a few thousand dollars two years ago at Bloomsbury Auctions in New York.

Bill Brownell Bill graduated Goldey-Beacom College and then the University of Delaware. He served ten years in the USMC. After leaving the Corps he spent 26 years as a purchaser for the local government. He retired in 1996 and this past October had a total left hip replacement. He misses all his friends from the classes of 1957-59.

Class of 1959 Wistar Silver hopes Solebury School continues to grow and excel.

Class of 1960 Rick Smith’s new book Hard Landing, was featured on LPFM, 107.1 in Nashville hosted by David Harris.

Rick is also in the studio recording some new tunes with the Mescal Sheiks in Hollywood. Life is busy and good.

Class of 1961 Sandra Mason Coggesshall has completed a second year of study with artist Ronald Frontin. A sore shoulder side-tracked her last fall but she’s back doing oils again. Her current focus is on portraits which she loves doing whether its people or animals or both. Some of her paintings were purchased by Skyline Farm Carriage Museum in Yarmouth, Maine.

Class of 1962 Katherine Sieble Kunhiraman and her husband, K.P., run a school and Performing Arts Company called Kalanjali in California. Katherine is also a member of the American Research Center in Egypt. She has spent some time each year in Egypt en route to India and has taught Indian dance there. She also serves the Indian community through the performing arts.

PAGE 2 Alexa Shaw McDonough thoroughly enjoyed the ’62 Class reunion. She thanks Sally Bowie and her “team” for their terrific effort in tracking us down and pulling off a highly successful reunion weekend.

Congrats to all!

Class of 1963 John Funk is still practicing law and enjoying traveling. He is heading to Nepal in 2012.

Class of 1964 Margo Harder Lawless and her husband are retired living in Massachusetts where they enjoy their 250-year-old home. Maintenance of the house and garden never ends. In their spare time they escape to Denver CO, or Oakland, CA to visit family.

Class of 1965 Jaye Friedman Levy was fortunate to be a delegate for the National Association of Social Workers to South Africa and Russia. Seeing poverty and below poverty level communities and programs where few workers are struggling to service these communities is a life changing experience. She continues to do on-sights as a critical incident stress de-briefed and clinical therapist. She invites fellow alumni to contact her at JLCSW@webtv.net.

C. Rodger Biles reports that his oldest grandson graduated from Army Basic Training and Army Engineering School on 11/11/11. He is now part of the 82nd Airborne in Fort Bragg, NC after he completes Airborne school at Fort Benning, GA. Class of 1966 Rick Row is an avid deltiologist specializing in vintage Pittsburgh and Pocono Mountain area postcards.

Class of 1967 Jeff Bishop reports that he designed and developed his website for his artwork (photography, drawing, and painting) at www.jeffreybishopimages.com. He is also a teacher at Pacer College of Art in Hamden, CT. Harrison McCormick tells us that all is well living on a large farm in central PA. He’s been counseling kids and married couples in private practice for 28 years. He also provides mental health services to six local nursing homes.

Class of 1968 Janet Roeser Norberg has a new grandson, Hugh, born June 2011.

Class of 1970 Sam Miller from Brookline, MA, received The “Ernie” Award, which goes to an individual working behind the scenes within the infrastructure of the dance field, whose achievements have significantly empowered artists and supported their creativity individually or as a community.

Sam Miller began his career in theater at Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, RI. His subsequent work in the theater, primarily as a stage manager, was at Hartman Theater, American Place Theater, Williamstown Summer Theater Festival, and the Folger Theatre.

SUMMER 2012 Sam’s first job in dance was as Founding Managing Director of Arizona Ballet in Phoenix, Arizona. He then worked at Pennsylvania Ballet as Development Director before joining Pilobolus as Managing Director. After Pilobolus, he joined Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in 1987 as Managing Director, becoming Executive Director and President in 1990.

In 1995, Sam became Executive Director of the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), where he launched regional and national projects including the National Dance Project, the Center for Creative Research, the Contemporary Art Centers Network, and the Favorite Poem Project with Robert Pinsky.

After ten years at NEFA, Sam became President of Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC), a tenyear initiative to improve conditions for independent artists in the US. In 2010, he became President of Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC).

In 1991, Sam founded the Cambodian Artists Project, a continuing effort to restore and advance Cambodian performing arts. He currently serves on the Board of Amrita in Phnom Penh. Sam also founded and is the Director of the Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance at Wesleyan University.

Sam serves as President of the LINC Board and on the advisory board of ODC/SF. Sam has produced the Jamison Project, Men Dancers, The Ted Shawn Legacy, Dance the Spirit of Cambodia, and the Eiko and Koma Retrospective Project and served as artistic advisor on White Oak Dance Project’s “Past/Forward.” Consulting clients have included the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Pew Center for Arts and Culture, Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Danspace Project, IMG, and ArtsEmerson.

Class of 1972 Eden Buck Cross talks about the importance of Solebury. She says, “While Solebury fostered a great sense of being okay about myself, for many years I still tried to fit in, seeking to quell my uncommon gifts. Finally, no longer able to deny my true self, I’ve begun to go public about my abilities as an intuitive communicator a.k.a. psychic medium, most notably as an Animal Communicator. Like jumping into the water after only having stuck your big toe in it’s a bit of a scary shock at first, but the water’s fine! With synchronicity on my side, last August I initially and officially got “outed” in Jacksonville magazine. They were interviewing our interior design client, author Steve Berry, about the home we just finished designing for him, when the journalist met me and my dog Saki when I mentioned I am an Animal Communicator. That very month was Jacksonville magazine’s Animal issue and I was written up. On November 16th I was interviewed on WJXT-TV in Jacksonville and have been a guest on several blog radio shows.

What’s important to me is that now I am able to get the word out there that there are people gifted like me who are not “woo-woo” but have a great deal to give and teach others. All of us have intuition – a 6th sense – like gifted artists, writers, and musicians. If anyone would like my brochure, contact me with your mailing address at edenx1@gmail.com.

Class of 1974 Mark Cosgrove is busy living the sometimes not so glamorous life of the touring musician. The new CD is called Unencumbered and is available on iTunes or directly through www.mcosgrove.com. Greetings to everybody!

THE ALMA Class of 1977 Rachel Simon shares some memories of her friends and classmates at Solebury School: Remember Brett Harrison in The Importance of Being Ernest or Jeff Honig’s graduation speech? Do you recall John McGann and John Zeidler playing guitar and banjo whenever possible? Maybe you remember Phoebe Chorley helping me carve a cat out of wood or Mrs. Sundstrom getting very excited whenever we asked for additional information, and then going into a side room to get one of her blue binders where she had copious notes on everything in the world.

PAGE 3 Painter Daniel Anthonisen was a featured artist in the 13th Annual Artist Studio Tour last April. Also included was his father George Anthonisen, a famed sculptor.

Class of 1991 Todd Lower is the operations manager for Alere, a durable medical company in Livermore, CA (San Francisco Bay area).

Class of 1993 Allegra Sleep is busy painting in gorgeous Taos, New Mexico. Recently she finished a large 30''x40'' painting titled Joven y Yaguara, which now lives in Dallas, Texas. She’s planning an entire show with the same theme.

Remember David Leshan talking about his college friend Thomas Pynchon or Mike Brady talking about elk in anthropology class? How many recall Will Scarlett riding a unicycle around campus? Do you remember the school nurse Joann in her office with the ferns? How about coming to Upper in the morning and seeing the teachers for the Outdoor Class already out for their run. How many of us hitchhiked into town to get pizza? Recall all the many great conversations with students in the art rooms long after the end of the school days and feeling relived and proud that we had no prom.

Great memories, Rachel!

Rachel took some time off from her book tour to visit with fellow alum Jeff Vespa while in California.

Stephanie Jones Godbolt remembers all the snowball fights during winter. Her four years at Solebury were enjoyable and unforgettable.

Class of 1978 Sarah McPhee published a new book this April titled Bernini’s Beloved. A Portrait of Costanza Piccolomini.

Class of 1979 Fred Royal says that he’s still in love with a beautiful Bucks County farm girl.

Class of 1980 Jona Hansen and his brother and Chef Max Hansen ’77, in concert with Hamilton’s Grill, had a book signing and celebration for Jona’s new book, Guantánamo: An American History.

Class of 1988 Navarrow Wright was featured last November in a CNN documentary called Black in America: The New Promised Land - Silicon Valley. It’s partly about why social media and technology companies are booming during these economic hard times and also about the challenges faced by African Americans in getting funding to start up technology-based companies.

Class of 1994 Janette Ratner Ritter sends us a photo from last fall.

She and Todd are with their sons Jonah and Joshua.

Janette tells us that life is wonderful and she is busy and involved in the Art scene in Poughkeepsie, NY. Class of 2001 John Howell and Solebury classmate Chris Alferman were featured in April 2012 Bucks Life Magazine. Here’s an excerpt: Howell is a 28-year-old metalworker who’s built like a long piece of unraveled soldering wire. The silo doubles as a workshop and studio for Howell and Chris. “I’ve got a business that does doors and stuff, but then I come in on the weekends and stay late and do art stuff,” Howell says. “Not stuff. You’re not supposed to call it that.”

SUMMER 2012 The guy loves metal. An accurate observation, but a gross understatement nonetheless. In trying to articulate exactly what it is that draws him to it, Howell starts and stops a couple of times before finally saying, “I could show you.” Between the unruly bushel of dirty-blond hair atop his head, his palpable energy and his accessible, genuine passion, Howell comes across as part mad scientist, part puppy. He hands me a welder’s helmet. “You got it on?”

A blue-green flame fills the otherwise dark rectangular window immediately in front of my eyes.

Howell turns off the torch and flips up the lid of his helmet. “Everyone understands wood, but metal is this other thing,” he says.

Howell and his partner showed up at the farm twoand-a-half years ago when they were looking for space to build a 12x8 foot awning for a shop in Lambertville, NJ. Initially, they were offered a space in the chicken coop with the other metalworkers, but then Andrew showed them the silo, and their search ended upon first sight.

The ceiling, of course, feels like it’s a mile overhead.

Still, it’s a surprisingly intimate space. The silo’s radius is only about 25 feet. And there are no windows. “Isn’t it awesome to work in a tin can?”

Howell says. It is, I agree. “It feels like Mad Max in there,” the photographer says on the way out.

Howell commutes from South Philadelphia to Doylestown by train. And then he rides a bike the five or six congested miles to the farm year round.

Andrew specifies later. “I’m like, ‘Why are you riding in this weather?’ He said, ‘I’m a Spartan!’ ” Story by Scott Edwards • Photography by Kresimir Juraga

THE ALMA

living in Oakland, CA and is applying to graduate school for a Master’s in Religious Studies.

Class of 2008

Class of 2007 Ben Dahl graduated from Beloit College with a major in Environmental Chemistry and a minor in Political Science. He is working as a paralegal in an Intellectual Property Law firm in DC. Ben is considering a Master’s Program in biotechnology in the fall.

Congratulations go out to Tom Hedges, an All-East Division I runner and the co-captain of the Colgate University Men’s Cross-Country team, who capped a spectacular four year career placing second for the Colgate team at both the Patriot League championships in Lehigh, Pennsylvania as well as the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (IC4A) championship held in Van Cortland Park in New York City.

Class of 2004 Ji-Soo Park is working at TE Connectivity in its headquarters in Shanghai. He is an analyst in the corporate planning department for the automotive section.

Class of 2002 Brittany Winfeld Korn completed her residency at NYC and will be attending Cornell New York Presbyterian Hospital for her Fellowship.

Class of 2003 Matt Travoto accepted a position as a lab analyst at GTS Welco, a division of Praxair, in Morrisville, PA. Class of 2004 Lauren Smerkanich has written a play titled Amongst the Trees. A critic wrote, “Lauren Smerkanich’s masterfully crafted, thoroughly enjoyable drama, Amongst the Trees is making rounds throughout the city as part of cARTel’s Living Room Tour. The production features exceptional writing, direction, and performance in a unique, unpretentious, and welcoming atmosphere.

Amongst the Trees gives its audience an introspective look at the dysfunctional, fluctuating interpersonal dynamics of central character Barbara and her eccentric father as they deal with a major loss. The Living Room Tour is intimate, pioneering, conceptually brilliant, and provides a perfect context for Smerkanich’s witty new play.”

How fantastic, Lauren!

Gillian McHale is in her first year of law school at the University of Virginia.

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Zeke Jenei graduated from the Hussian School of Art in Philadelphia in 2011. Zeke is currently working and teaching at the Philadelphia Mural Arts . His most recent show was with Yards Brewery. Check out his art at http://www.behance.net/?search=Zeke +Jenei or http://www.wix.com/zekejenei/ zekejenei. zekejenei Kerry Toole is teaching Hip Hop dance classes at the Doylestown Performing Arts Center.

Class of 2008 Emma Ballentyne graduated from Rhode Island School of Design.

Class of 2009 Matt Wilson is a student at the British American Drama Academy in London.

Matt had the opportunity to study under some great British actors, including Fiona Shaw (Harry Potter movies and British director) as well as cast members of the Royal Shakespeare Company and many other greats. Hopefully, Matt will be cast in a production fairly soon in London.

One of Matt’s proudest accomplishments has been his production of Tennessee Williams’ Talk to Me Like the Rain and Let Me Listen which he collaborated with other students on. Last summer he was also cast as The Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz at the Open Air Theatre in Washington Crossing, NJ. Class of 2010

Judah Paulsen-Sacks is in Vanuatu with the Peace Corps in a town called Tannalu, near the capital Port Vila on the island of Espate. He lives in a tin house with a host family and their four children.

He has occasional access to electricity but no reliable internet access. He takes “bucket-baths.”

His host mom cooks meals on an open fire. He’s been eating lots of fish, coconut, mangos and yams.

Judah has an excellent blog: check it out http://prakasha2.blogspot.com/ Class of 2005 Noah Lyons vacationed in Fairbanks, Alaska for 10 days over New Years. One day the high was -40 degrees. He saw the Northern Lights, stayed at Chena Hot Springs and used the outdoor hot springs when it was a mere -30 degrees. Noah drank an apple martini at the ice bar with ice glasses in the ice museum. He saw the sun rise in the south (for 3 hours) and set in the south. Noah reported that he found the people extremely friendly, saw some cool indigenous art and natural history at the University of Alaska museum, and went dog sledding. Noah is

Will Holstrom sang with the Hobart and William Smith Colleges Chorale. They presented a program of choral works, directed by Robert Cowles, as part of its annual spring concert last March at Trinity Episcopal Church in New Hope. The group performed music from the Spanish Renaissance, anthems by George Frideric Handel, and a work by Gabriel Fauré, as well as several Celtic arrangements.

Emmanuel Matlock had a great basketball career at The College of New Jersey. He led the team to two wins over Rutgers-Camden and Hunter College.

Manny posted a career-best 16 points and nine

SUMMER 2012

THE ALMA rebounds in a win over the Scarlet Raptors. Matlock also registered a seasonhigh six steals in a win over Hunter College.

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“We just think there’s a cool vibe here,” he said.

And, of course, he’ll be taking his truck on the road.

He’s hoping to park at area farmer’s markets, local events, and concerts. He also recently parked his Moo truck on Solebury’s campus!

Dahlia Wesley attends Kean University full time and still has time to work part-time. She’s maintaining a 3.5 GPA and plans on taking some summer classes so she never has too much free time on her hands!

Carol Hey and her student Jeremy are posing at The Philadelphia Youth Regatta on the Schuylkill river last summer. Photo credit to Magdalena Giacone.

BABIES

Class of 2011 From the Newtown Patch, December, 2011 Today, after thinking about it for more than half of his life, Evan Asoudegan made his dream come true.

For 10 years, thanks to his mother’s inspiration, Asoudegan, 18, has thought about opening a food truck named MOO that would serve burgers, fries and shakes made from local ingredients.

On a chilly yet sunny Thursday, MOO opened its (truck) doors for the first time at Carousel Village.

“Ninety percent of everything is local and organic,” said Asoudegan, a Lambertville resident. The meat, which is from Simply Grazing in Skillman, NJ, is even ground in the truck.

Eating local was a cornerstone philosophy in Asoudegan’s upbringing. “It’s pretty much how I was raised,” he said, adding his mother was involved with the local Foodshed Alliance.

“It makes sense (to eat local). Why not? We have such great farms around Bucks County,” he said.

Asoudegan had plans to go to the French Culinary Institute in New York. “But at the last second, I decided to pursue MOO,” he said.

The menu includes the “MOO Burger,” made from local beef, pickles (Asoudegan makes his own), onion and the “MOO goo” special sauce.

There are variations, too. For example, the “Moink” is the burger with bacon.

It’s not all just a carnivore’s dream, though. MOO serves salads, which are layered like a parfait. The salad on the menu varies each day depending on what ingredients are available. He gets some of his greens from Blue Moon Acres in Buckingham.

When it gets warmer, MOO will serve milk shakes as well.

Asoudegan picked Carousel Village as his home base for the time being because, he said, it’s a meeting place. Plus, OwowCow, which serves ice cream made from local ingredients, is nearby and shares MOO’s philosophy.

Claudia Keep Freshman Claudia Keep fresh off her 2nd Team All-Centennial Conference honors sprinted to a 12th place finish at the annual NCAA Division III Regionals hosted by DeSales University.

Claudia also competed in Wisconsin-Oshkosh for the NCAA Division III National Championships.

Clauda is the first Bryn Mawr cross-country runner to make the National Championships. Claudia finished 10th at the Centennial Conference Championships, becoming just the third runner all-time to earn All-Conference accolades.

In addition, Claudia’s 12th place also marks the highest finisher for an Owl all-time.

Current and Former Faculty Director of Admission Scott Eckstein has a blog! http://scotteckstein.wordpress.com/ Tom Unger will retired in August 2012. Tom writes, “After 45 years in my teaching career I shall retire my lesson plans and resume my career as writer, stained glass artist and traveler. I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching and learning.”

Former librarian and teacher Nancy Ennis and her husband are going around the world Winter 2012.

They will visit Turkey, Jordan, Tanzania, India, Thailand, Laos and Japan.

Carolyn Cassidy is retired and enjoying it. She is a tutor for her school district and takes care of the grandchildren. Solebury was a wonderful place to teach.

Greg Edward Schmergel and Joanna Owen Schmergel ’94 (formerly Joanna Whitney Owen) announce the birth of Gage Kingsbury Schmergel.

He was born at 5:31 PM on April 5th at the Newton/Wellesley Hospital. Grandparents are Margaret Whitney Emslie, the late Wadsworth Owen, Valerie Jane and Gabriel Schmergel. His Godmother will be Alexandra Hope Emslie DEATHS Class of 1944 November, 2011 Pamela Stockman Prockor was born in Englewood, NJ. She was also a longtime resident. She had recently moved to Norwalk, CT to live with one of her daughters. Pamela is survived by daughters Katherine and Pamela, sons James and William and four grandchildren.

Class of 1955 William Windisch Bentley 2/5/1937 – 9/9/2011 Bill was a beloved husband, father, grandfather and friend. He was born in New York City in 1937. He was proud of his heritage as a great nephew of Buffalo Bill Cody and descendent of one of Cincinnati’s famous brewery families, the Windisch – Mulhauser Brewery. Raised in New Hope, Pa. with his two brothers, he had wonderful memories of growing up on a farm and spending summers at a family home in the Les Cheneaux Islands of Cedarville, Mich. He attended, and remained involved in, Solebury School in New Hope, PA and the Phelps School in

SUMMER 2012

THE ALMA

Malvern, Pa. He was a 1961 graduate of Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla., where he was on the crew team and a member of Kappa Alpha Fraternity.

Much of his working life was spent in Philadelphia as a stockbroker and he followed this passion for the market into his retirement. He was involved in various activities throughout his life including the Amwell Masonic Lodge No. 12 of Lambertville, NJ, the Shattenbaum Region PCA, the Racquet Club of Philadelphia, the Hickory Nut Gorge Outreach and the Lake Lure Artists. He enjoyed being around his many friends and family while enjoying the finer things in life, especially his cars, good German beer, fine art and his gardens.

Class of 1959 5/18/1941 - 2/4/2012 David J. Raffetto passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his entire family.

After Solebury, David graduated from Susquehanna University in 1965. He spent the next 30 years as a U.S. Naval Aviator. Following retirement from the Navy, David and his wife Kate enjoyed their grandchildren, involvement in their community and sailing. He is survived by his wife of 45 years; son Brian; and daughter Sarah; four grandchildren; a sister, Janet ’62; and a brother, John ’66.

Class of 1960 10/6/1941 to 6/17/2011 Benjamin Chapman Benjamin Chapin Chapman was born in Trenton, NJ. He attended the Solebury School, the Perkiomen School, and the St. Elizabeth School near Wakapala, South Dakota. He served four years in the United States Navy as a medical corpsman and two years fishing in Alaska and mining in Charleston. Here, he worked as a forester with Robert Knoth, then spurred on by a friendship with master landscaper Robert Marvin, he became interested in horticulture which led him to his position at Middleton Place. He was head of the Horticulture Department at Middleton Place as well as manager of Middleton Place Woodlands. As both a horticulturist and environmentalist, Ben was an active member and articulate defender of the unspoiled. He was the founding board member and second president of the Lowcountry Open Land Trust, a past board member of the Nature Conservancy (Charleston Chapter), and was instrumental in the conservation of the Santee Coastal Preserve, the Caw Caw County park and many other Low Country properties.

Class of 1962 December 3, 1943 - April 9, 2011 Alexis Irenee Du Pont-deBie Sr.

Class of 1973 7/12/1954 - 9/26/2011 Peter Maria Nathans, 16-year resident of Inglis House in Philadelphia, passed away Sept. 26, 2011.

He was a beloved son, brother, and uncle.

Class of 1977 4/6/2012 John McGann noted instrumentalist and acoustic music educator passed away in Boston. He was on the faculty at the Berklee College of Music where he taught mandolin and guitar, and led a number of string ensembles. He was also a gifted performer who was conversant in a wide variety of musical

genres. John leaves behind a wife and young daughter.

David Hollender, who served with McGann on the Berklee faculty, described his colleague as one of the nicest, funniest, most knowledgeable people to have ever known. The things he knew about music would blow your mind. When he was out playing with Matt Glaser, they used to play a game on stage called “Ask John.” No matter what instrument he had in his hands, people could call out any Beatles tune, and he could start playing it on the spot. He knew bluegrass, jazz, gypsy jazz, classical, Celtic and American folk music well. Here’s a great video of John. His solo comes at the 3:05 mark. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCbW8u2Y58&feature=player_embedded Jim Dragotta 11/3/1935 – 4/22/12 Former faculty member James L. Dragotta of Lambertville, N.J. died Sunday, April 22, 2012, at his residence. He was 76.

He was the son of the late Joseph and Eleanor Dragotta. He lived in Phillipsburg and Flemington, N.J. before moving to Lambertville.

James served in the United States Air Force from 1953 to 1957. He received his bachelor’s degree from Trenton State College and his master’s degree from Hunter College in New York.

Until his retirement, he taught mathematics at Hunterdon Central High School for 39 years and also coached basketball. He was head of the Math Department at Solebury School. He was an active member of the New Jersey Education Association and was a member of the Lambertville Elks Lodge.

Alexandra Marshall Cole Hansen 2/24/1934 – 4/5/2012 Alexandra Marshall Cole Hansen, retired Assistant to the Headmaster at Solebury School, died at her home in New Hope, PA, from complications related to a traumatic brain injury. She was 78.

“Alix”, as she liked to be called, was born in Trenton, NJ on February 24, 1934 and lived for a brief time in Titusville, NJ until settling in New Hope with her parents and two sisters. She attended the local public schools before graduating from Solebury School in 1951. In 1954, she earned an associate’s degree from Drexel Institute of Technology (today’s Drexel University).

After Drexel, Alix worked as assistant to the medical director at Hunterdon Medical Center, Flemington, NJ, where in 1957 she met her husband, Chris Hansen, a medical student in pediatrics. Married the next year, the couple soon embarked on a protracted medical odyssey that took their young and growing family from the White Mountains of the Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona; to a stint with the Peace Corps in Ankara, Turkey; to the Sioux Indian Reservation near Aberdeen, SD; to Boston, MA; Mound Bayou, MS; and later to London, England; al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia; and Doha, Qatar.

Alix, Chris and their four children finally settled in New Hope in 1969.

To uproot a young family once or twice in a lifetime can be difficult, as many Americans know. To uproot a family virtually every other year for a decade by moving to underprivileged communities and foreign countries could have been devastating had it not been for Alix’s stamina, courage, curiosity, and resourcefulness. People often asked her, “What are you doing following that mad medicine man from

PAGE 6 god-forsaken place to place?” But Alix wasn’t simply following Chris; the couple went together, the kids in tow, and the world (and perhaps the family) is better for it.

Alix had many virtues, but none more striking and more appreciated than her hospitality. Though often a stranger herself, Alix opened her door to people of every commitment, color, and creed. It wasn’t that she was unjudgmental; her generosity simply exceeded her critical tendencies. She was a knowing and munificent, cosmopolitan and ecumenical host. Family photographs abound of motley collections of merry makers, young and old, wining and dining in New Hope and Turkey and Mississippi and Arizona and South Dakota and London and, yes, al-Khobar and Doha (with wine she and her friends made in the bathtub).

Chris famously liked toys, but so did Alix—wind ups and racing cars and electric trains and model airplanes and Estes rockets, to name a few. She also liked to cook, was good at it, and passed on that love to her children and grandchildren, some of whose fondest memories are of baking cakes and making jam with “Gammy” in Maine. Alix loved breakfast, and was an expert in every variation of eggs, often choosing from her favorite egg cups for soft-boiled eggs.

Alix also loved children’s books and soccer, and reading to her grandchildren and attending their games, plays, and performances. Comfortable amid scarcity, she loved the highlife, spending lavishly when she could—which wasn’t often—and dining at some of the world’s finest restaurants. She knit beautiful sweaters, appreciated art, and collected fascinating folk art and adornments from her and Chris’s worldly travels.

Refined in manners, she had a tart tongue and great sense of humor. She also had a fierce temper, which she attributed to her father. She loved the outdoors and particularly gardening, another inherited characteristic, and she thought nothing of transporting the treasures of the Bucks County woods to her children in New York City or Boston.

Alix died as she lived, surrounded by family and friends, including a group of West African home health aides who recognized even in a diminished Alix what others always treasured: a tender, abundant, and open heart. Together, hands held and nearly in unison, yet one more multicultural collection of loved ones sang Alix out–Higher Ground and Amazing Grace–an apt tribute.

Alix is survived by her children, Max ’77, Amy ’79, Jonathan ’80, and Nathaniel ’87; their spouses Andrea Kurman Hansen, Mark Canright, Anne Hansen, and Shunyi Wu; her grandchildren, Oliver, Rebecca, Julian, and Nathalie, her sister Annsi Stephano ’58, and many devoted nephews, nieces, and second cousins.

Important Information Please check out Solebury’s website www.solebury.org. On this site you can send class notes, update your contact information, register for reunions, make a gift to Solebury, and more.

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Summer 2012 Solebury School Magazine Editor Jennifer K. Burns Director of Advancement Associate Editor, Magazine Beverly Berkeley Director of Communications Associate Editor, Alma’s Renee LaPorte Associate Director of Development Design & Production EnForm Graphic Productions, Inc.

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Copyright 2012 Solebury School BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2012-2013 Charles J. Abbe ’59 (CA) Chairman Scott Bolenbaugh (PA) Vice Chairman Elizabeth Wavle (NJ) Treasurer Alan Sheriff (PA) Secretary Ezra Billinkoff ’03 (PA) David Christiansen (PA) Dan Cohen ’63 (FL) Jonathan Downs ’71 (PA) Barbara Fordyce (PA) Tom Hunt ’74 (NJ) Stan Jablonowski (PA) Mary Beth Kineke (PA) Ken Klimpel (NJ) Holly Mullin (PA) John Petito (PA) Joan Reinthaler ’53 (DC) Mike Sienkiewicz ’56 Anne C. (Annsi) Stephano ’58 (PA) Brett Webber ’85 (PA) Navarrow Wright ’88 (NJ) Head of School Thomas G. Wilschutz

26 ❖ Solebury School Magazine Summer 2012

HONORARY TRUSTEES Bill Berkeley ’49 Chris Chandor ’60 Alan Donley ’55 Betsy Bidelman Meredith ’54 Richard Moss ’48 Hermann Platt ’54 Eric Shaw ’55 Jean Shaw ’53

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Solebury School’s unique and experiential style of education has benefitted more than 3,700 students for almost 90 years. Making a gift of a lifetime through your estate planning can help continue the Solebury tradition for generations of students to come.

Making a bequest is the most common way that supporters make a legacy gift to Solebury and the easiest. A statement such as, “I give and bequeath to Solebury School, located in New Hope, Pennsylvania, the sum of $______ [or ______%] of my estate to be used for its general support” in your will ensures that your gift will have the greatest flexibility to meet the needs of Solebury School.

There are many options to create lifetime gifts that support you, your family and Solebury School. To learn more, please contact Jennifer K. Burns, Director of Advancement, at 215-863-5261 x183 or jburns@solebury.org.

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The Herbert S. Boyd Society Boyd Society members have expressed their commitment to Solebury School in an important way, naming Solebury School as the ultimate beneficiary of bequest, charitable gift annuity, life insurance policy or other planned gift.

The Herbert S. Boyd Society is 75 members strong and its growth benefits Solebury School. For more information, please contact Jennifer K. Burns, Director of Advancement, at 215-863-5261 x183 or go to www.solebury.org/giving.

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Class of

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Solebury School Class of 2012 Photo Credit: Steve Barth