Fall 2002 Taft Bulletin

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Majestic Bricks and Mortar The Challenge of a Mountain Travels That Transform

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B U L L E T I N Fall 2002 Volume 73 Number 1 Bulletin Staff Director of Development Chip Spencer ’56 Editor Julie Reiff Acting Editor Linda Beyus Alumni Notes Anne Gahl Jackie Maloney Design Good Design www.goodgraphics.com Proofreaders Nina Maynard Bob Campbell ’76

Bulletin Advisory Board Todd Gipstein ’70 Peter Kilborn ’57 Nancy Novogrod P’98, ’01 Bonnie Blackburn Penhollow ’84 Josh Quittner ’75 Peter Frew ’75, ex officio Julie Reiff, ex officio Bonnie Welch, ex officio Mail letters to: Linda Beyus, Acting Editor Taft Bulletin The Taft School Watertown, CT 06795-2100 U.S.A. BeyusL@TaftSchool.org Send alumni news to: Anne Gahl Alumni Office The Taft School Watertown, CT 06795-2100 U.S.A. TaftBulletin@TaftSchool.org Deadlines for Alumni Notes: Fall–August 30 Winter–November 15 Spring–February 15 Summer–May 30 Send address corrections to: Sally Membrino Alumni Records The Taft School Watertown, CT 06795-2100 U.S.A. TaftRhino@TaftSchool.org 1-860-945-7777 www.TaftAlumni.com This magazine is printed on recycled paper.

FEATURES

Majestic Bricks and Mortar

Around the Pond 14

The John L. Vogelstein ’52 Dormitory for girls is built, occupied, and dedicated.

By Will Miller ’74 and Linda Beyus

The Challenge of a Mountain

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The Poole Fellows’ experiences from summer 2002.

By Rick Lansdale

DEPARTMENTS

From the Editor

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From the Archives

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Alumni in Print

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Books on photography, legal history and outer space by Taft alumni.

Alumni Spotlight

Endnote

completed this fall.

PHOTO BY VICKERS & BEECHLER

The Taft Bulletin is published quarterly, in February, May, August, and November, by The Taft School, 110 Woodbury Road, Watertown, CT 06795-2100, and is distributed free of charge to alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends of the school.

E-Mail Us Send your latest news, address change, birth announcement, or letter to the editor via e-mail. Our address is TaftBulletin@TaftSchool.org. We continue to accept your communiqués by such “low-tech” methods as the fax machine (860-945-7756), telephone (860-945-7777), or U.S. Mail (110 Woodbury Road, Watertown, CT 06795-2100). So let’s hear from you!

Taft on the Web News? Stocks? Entertainment? Weather? Catch up with old friends or make new ones, get a job and more!—all at the new Taft Alumni Community online.

Visit us at www.TaftAlumni.com.

What happened at this afternoon's game?—Visit us at www.TaftSports.com for the latest Big Red coverage.

For other campus news and events, including admissions information, visit our main site at www.TaftSchool.org with improved calendar features and Around the Pond stories.

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Acquiring a 1776 rare newspaper, art exhibit in Wyoming, sculptor of porcelain and bronze, outstanding female athletes

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the Cover 22 On The John L. Vogelstein ’52 Dormitory,

Frank V. Snyder ’39 creates Stratton Ski Area against all odds.

By Linda Beyus

Travels That Transform

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Potter gallery, Earthwatch grant recipient, Davis Fellowships, opening day, Paduano lectures, studying Islam

Page 22 Page 27 䉳 At left, students in hallway of CPT. PHOTO BY TOM KATES

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From the editor From where I sit, Taft alumni, students, and on-campus community appear to be an amazing group of people. I’m pleased to be acting editor of the Taft Bulletin this year while editor Julie Reiff is on sabbatical. Hers are big shoes to fill, as all of you know, since Julie manages to create one of the most dynamic alumni magazines that I’ve ever seen.

Thanks to those who have already helped orient me here on campus and to those alumni who have begun to share their stories with me, some found inside this issue. In a few

months, I’ve managed to visit a Connecticut-based art colony where an alumnus resided to do sculpture this past summer, plus I’ve visited an island and went boating to interview another gifted alumnus, along with attending events on campus.

Basically, I hit the ground running since arriving at Taft to gather your good stories in person and over the phone. I feel fortunate that I’ll have the chance to meet many alumni from this high-caliber school over the coming year. It’s obvious that Taft is a school that its extended

We welcome Letters to the Editor relating to the content of the magazine. Letters may be edited for length, clarity, and content, and are published at the editor’s discretion. Send correspondence to:

Linda Beyus, Acting Editor • Taft Bulletin 110 Woodbury Road Watertown, CT 06795-2100 U.S.A. or to BeyusL@TaftSchool.org

alumni community is enormously proud to have attended.

I look forward to your e-mails and hope you’ll like what we have to share with you in each issue both about the school now and your alumni community.

—Linda Beyus Acting Editor e-mail: BeyusL@TaftSchool.org

From the Archives The many responses to the Jigger Shop photo, circa 1953, in the Summer Bulletin, came up with the following possible names. Left to right at counter are: John Simms ’56, a visiting Latin American student (name unknown), George Gura ’54, Chip Spencer ’56, and Farish Jenkins ’57. The fellow serving everyone is Connie Laganas ’55. Standing in the second row behind and to the left of Chip in this photo, also in a white shirt, is John Milholland ’58. Win Hagen ’54 is to the right of John near the wall.

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Alumni IN PRINT

Between Law and Custom: “High” and “Low” Legal Cultures in the Lands of the British Diaspora – The United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, 1600–1900

by Peter Karsten ’56 CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2002

Why does a professor of history and author of 12 books on military history shift to writing a book about law in the former colonies? Peter Karsten ’56 was inspired to write Between Law and Custom after authoring a previous comparative study of common law called Heart versus Head: Judge-Made Law in Nineteenth-Century America (1997). This earlier title, a book Karsten is proudest of, “stood the legal profession on its head,” he says. After reading Heart versus Head, an academic friend told Karsten he’d unfortunately have to rewrite all his lectures as a result of Karsten’s insightful analysis of the proplaintiff, humanitarian shift in 19th century laws.

Karsten’s newest book, Between Law and Custom, includes a look at the paradox of crown government’s desires to protect aboriginal people from frontier settlers in four British-ruled colonies, part of his study of the evolution of indigenously-crafted law.

His research also includes changes in interpreting “attractive nuisance” laws in which “kids are treated not as trespassers, but invitees.” Rather than a child or parent being held liable for injuries sustained on railroad turntables in the 1800s, for instance, the safety obligation shifted legally to the owner of the dangerous machinery (or currently to swimming pools, for example).

A professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh, Karsten has written no less than 14 books encompassing war crimes, coups, legal and military history. Many of Peter Karsten’s titles are part of the Hulbert Taft, Jr. Library’s collection. His next book projects are co-authoring, with Kermit Hall, the second edition of The Magic Mirror: Law in American History (Oxford University Press)

and writing a micronarrative history of William Buckley, a British soldier who escaped from prison in 18th century Australia and ended up living with aboriginal people for 32 years.

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Robert Capa: The Definitive Collection

by Richard Whelan ’64 PHAIDON PRESS, 2001

The stunningly comprehensive book, Robert Capa: The Definitive Collection by Richard Whelan ’64, is the culmination of 20 years of work Whelan has done on the famous Hungarian photojournalist who chose an American name with cinematic panache.

Now part of the Hulbert Taft Jr. Library’s Alumni Authors Collection, this impressive book is an asset to student photographers, art historians and anyone who appreciates 20th-century images. Capa’s powerful black and white photographs of the Spanish Civil War, World War II, and life among soldiers, citizens, and artist-friends like Ernest Hemingway and Ingrid Bergman, reveal joy as well as suffering. From 70,000 images taken by Robert Capa during his brief lifetime, 1913–1954, Cornell Capa, Robert’s brother, and Whelan chose 934 photos for this book.

In the book’s opening essay, Whelan writes, “No one who watches the news on television needs to look at Capa’s photographs to be reminded what a terrible and violent place our world can be…He reminds us with supreme visual eloquence that the fortitude, kindness, and optimism of ordinary people are the most effective and heroic forms of defiance against the forces of darkness.”

When asked why he chose to focus on photojournalism and Capa, Whelan, who majored in art history at Yale, says he has liked 20th-century art and political history for many years.

“Photojournalism is the perfect marriage of the two,” he says, and “Robert Capa is the best and greatest.”

Now a cultural historian, teacher,

writer, and photographic curator, Whelan has authored and edited 20 books, 6 specifically on Robert Capa’s photography. In May 2004, the International Center of Photography in New York, where Whelan teaches and is curator of their Capa collection, will have a show about Robert Capa’s life and his photographs. Whelan reports that he is also working on a Capa documentary for PBS to be aired in May 2003 as part of their “American Masters’ Series.”

Voyage to Mars: NASA’s Search for Life Beyond Earth

by Laurence Bergreen ’67 RIVERHEAD BOOKS, 2000

When Laurence Bergreen ’67 got ready for a trip to Iceland with NASA’s planetary geologist Jim Garvin as research for this book, Garvin’s e-mail to Bergreen tantalizingly warned, “Get ready for Mars on Earth.” Not many of us think of Iceland as a stand-in for the Red Planet, which occupies the imagination of both 4

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scientists and sci-fi nuts. Bergreen opens his vividly-written book about committed NASA Mars scientists seeking clues in Iceland’s volcanic terrain, where scientists can study a fast-changing landscape, for what Mars might have been like eons ago and for how it changed. Speaking of Iceland’s dynamic

geology, Bergreen says, “The place teems with clues about the formation of Earth, of Mars, and of the entire solar system.”

Quoting scientist Garvin, Bergreen writes, “When we first got [to Mars] in the sixties with the Mariner spacecraft, we thought ‘Oh, my God, there are going to be Martians, canals; it’s going to

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Larry Bergreen ’67 at the Strait of Magellan, southern Chile, January 2002

be great.’ But when we got there, it looked like the moon. Mars puzzled us.

[In the seventies] we found the great arctic desert of Mars. We saw frost form in the winter, and we saw snow. We saw rocks and pits that reminded us of gas bubbles in the volcanic rocks you see here on Iceland, but we didn’t see the obvious signatures of life. We’ve got to go back.

We’ve got to understand this place.”

His book is almost a scientific travelogue written clearly enough for lay people who, like the scientists themselves, may want to know if life exists elsewhere in the universe.

Bergreen’s chapters, written in a captivating, journalistic voice, take the reader on an up-close visit not only to Iceland, but to the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, CalTech, the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and the Johnson Space Center—all the familiar shrines of people who explore outer space in one form or another.

As to why he chose the topic for this book, Bergreen says in part it’s because as a child, he was fascinated with Mars and outer space. Prior to Voyage to Mars, Bergreen wrote biographies of Irv-

ing Berlin and Al Capone, so this latest book was truly new terrain for him.

What clinched the Mars topic for him was meeting a NASA scientist from Goddard more by fate than choice, having been on a panel at a science and humanities gathering with her. Once the panel ended she invited him to visit NASA where her Mars research colleagues kept urging him to write about their work. “If I had passed up this opportunity,” Bergreen told the Bulletin, “I’d be kicking myself for years to come.”

Unraveling the controversial discoveries of nanofossils in multiple Mars meteorites, Bergreen recreates the research paths of the committed scientists who live, eat, and breathe Mars exploration. For instance, Bergreen got to look over the shoulders of the MOLA (Mars Orbiter Lander Altimeter) team while they mapped the entire planet’s surface so they could track evidence of water, a sign of pos-

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sible life on Mars (“Not little green men,” the author laughs).

While writing Voyage to Mars, Bergreen was struck that the dedication of the NASA Mars scientists went way beyond what they were earning. They told him they, too, were fascinated with the planet as kids, and here they were, probing its surface and studying its dynamics. Both citizen and government interest in Mars exploration has increased in spite of a mission like the Polar Lander missing its mark.

Bergreen says his next book (“I always wanted to write a sea story”) will be about Magellan’s circumnavigation of the globe, a historic explorer talked about even by NASA’s modern-day scientists.

The author eloquently sums up the point of Mars exploration, writing: “To understand the Red Planet, even partially, is to understand something about the nature of the universe, to catch glimpses of our distant past and our future, to extend perception to a scale much larger that ordinary human comprehension, to harness the imagination to the intellect and the intellect to the stars.”

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SPOTLIGHT

Alumni S P OT L I G H T

Wheels

The work of Marc Leuthold ’80 was featured on the cover of Ceramics Monthly’s summer 2002 issue. Leuthold is assistant professor of art at the State University of New York at Potsdam and is well known as a gifted sculptor. His work includes the making of what he refers to as “wheels,” large discs carved on one or both sides, made of porcelain or bronze. While staying at an art colony in Connecticut this summer, Marc told the Bulletin about his wheels and other sculpture.

The large and exquisite bronze sculpture shown in a photo below is 66” tall, with gold plating and applied metallic patinas on a granite base. It was completed in April 2002 after being commissioned by John and Robert Horn for their sculpture garden in Little

Rock, Ark. and took two years to make.

Leuthold also creates stunning tabletop sculptures such as “Porcelain Oval” (see center below) which is made of carved, glazed porcelain.

Leuthold’s wheels are often made of porcelain, which he skillfully carves from Leuthold carving the clay model from which “Origin” was cast. very firm clay. His wheels seem to evoke patterns in nature such as the underside of and ear-shaped pieces that are called “Remushrooms or sand dollars. Each piece is ceptors” in one series. intricate and captivating—one wants to take Taft’s Mark W. Potter ’48 Gallery has in every carved detail. Leuthold’s 15-year a piece of Leuthold’s sculpture on display body of work also includes porcelain cones called “Hemisphere.”

“Porcelain Oval,” 1996, Marc Leuthold (porcelain, 11 in. x 15 in.)

CERAMICS MONTHLY IS A PUBLICATION OF © THE AMERICAN CERAMICS SOCIETY. WWW.CERAMICSMONTHLY.ORG

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Taft Bulletin Fall 2002

“Origin,” 2002, Marc Leuthold (bronze, 66 in.)

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SPOTLIGHT

Under the Sky Jenny Glenn Wuerker ’83, who taught art at Taft from 1990 to1995, had a show entitled “In the Shadow of the Big Horns” this past summer at the Ucross Foundation Art Gallery in Clearmont, Wyo. Wuerker writes that “Working plein air has always been my passion. . . . With our speedy society, I enjoy the counter-cultural performance of dragging my easel and gear out into the landscape and manually mixing paint to slowly translate nature to the canvas. . . . Being part of the landscape, I work through the wind, changing light,

“Little Crazy Woman Creek,” 2001, Jenny Glenn Wuerker (oil on canvas, 34in. x 43 in.)

and an occasional rattlesnake. I study geology as a figure painter might know anatomy, in order to recognize the patterns and structure of the land. I hope to catch the motion of the sky and the light across the surface of the earth.”

Wuerker earned her BA from Yale in 1987, and her MFA from American University in 1992. She is now retired from teaching and paints full-time around her home in Buffalo, WY.

the 1776 rare newspaper from Christie’s in 2000 for $140,000—good news to Ripley and the library society who weren’t in a position to purchase it. The question of legal ownership wouldn’t be fully resolved for many more months however.

After the sale was completed, the Charleston Library Society learned to its surprise from a scholarly researcher that a copy of the same 1776 edition of the Gazette had been part of its own collection in the 1870s and possibly into early 1900, yet the library’s 1950 list of material being microfilmed did not include the 1776 newspaper.

This discovery persuaded the society to file suit against the seller of the document, a rare newspaper

dealer from Virginia, months after the sale had gone through. “We [the board and officers of the Charleston Library Society] felt that we would be remiss if we didn’t try to reacquire it,” Ripley said. Both parties reached a friendly settlement in the end after a bout of litigation.

The purchaser of the rare edition, the Post and Courier Foundation, has arranged for the library society to permanently hold and exhibit a copy of this historic issue of the 1776 Gazette once again. “It brings the newspaper back to South Carolina where it belongs,” Ripley told The Post and Courier.

Warren Ripley is an author of books on Civil War history, with eight titles in the Hulbert Taft, Jr., Library’s collection.

A Legal Tug-of-War Warren Ripley ’39, president of the Charleston Library Society, played a key role in reacquiring a rare 1776 issue of the newspaper The South-Carolina and American General Gazette for its collection. Reportedly the only remaining copy, this 1776 edition carried news of the first public announcement of the Declaration of Independence and was the only newspaper to print the entire text of the declaration. There were very few newspapers in America then, let alone any that printed the entire text of this historic document.

The acquisition of the 1776 Gazette ended up as an unexpected legal tug-of-war. The Charleston newspaper, The Post and Courier, where Ripley had formerly worked, agreed to purchase

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SPOTLIGHT

Bowdoin’s Hall of Honor Athlete Jill Bermingham Isenhart ’82 was selected for the Bowdoin College Athletic Hall of Honor in Spring 2002. Bowdoin, where Jill graduated from in 1986, said in the award announcement that she was “unquestionably the most talented, versatile athlete to ever pull on a Bowdoin jersey.” Bermingham Isenhart’s leadership on the highly-successful soccer and lacrosse teams, and her prolific scoring were remarkable. Scott Meiklejohn of Bowdoin’s Office of Development and Alumni Relations said Bermingham Isenhart was chosen because, “Not only was she individually brilliant as an athlete, but her teams also did particularly well.” The list of her achievements includes the following statistics: Soccer — 2nd Most goals, career: 36 (1982–1985) and 2nd Most points, career: 86 (1982–1985) Lacrosse — Most points, career: 183 (1983–1986) Hockey — Most goals in a season: 30 (one year only) She also received the New England Athletic Conference Division III Female Athlete of the Year award in 1985. The list for this talented woman could go on and on.

Jill Bermingham Isenhart ’82 with husband Chip, daughter Hannah (3), and son Jesse (1) hiking to Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado

Sticking to It

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TIM MCKINNEY

Sarah Graham ’98 was a stellar lacrosse player during her time at Cornell where she graduated from in 2002. As one of five primary defenders, Graham helped insure the team’s outstanding record by strengthening its defense.

In 2002, Cornell’s women’s lacrosse team made it to the Final Four in the NCAA tournament, and as Cornell wrote of the team that year, “A team that changed the fortunes of a program was rewarded with the greatest season in school history.” Graham’s team had a 16–2 record, overshadowing the previous record for season wins (13), plus an undefeated home record (8–0).

Jeremy Hartigan, of Cornell’s athletic communications department, wrote of Graham: “Sarah Graham [number 16] from Washington, Connecticut is one of the top defenders in school history. Graham is a large part of the reason for Cornell’s defensive success over the past two years [2001–2002].

Sarah Graham during Cornell’s NCAA first-round victory over Syracuse. Cornell won the contest (16–8) on May 9, 2002, in Ithaca.

[Graham’s] aggressive play at line defense and stick checking ability make her a very important player in the backfield. Graham has good size and speed and has

developed into a center draw specialist.

In large part due to her efforts, the Cornell defense ranked fifth in the nation in scoring defense.”

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Nantucket Gathering On Aug. 6, over 75 alumni, parents and friends welcomed Pam and Willy MacMullen to Nantucket. The party, hosted by M.J. and Tom Dickson P’98, ’03 and Susie and Ward Belcher P’97, ’02, was held at the Sankaty Head Golf Club on a gorgeous summer night.

Debbie Fraker P’05, Pam MacMullen and Peggy Toce, P’98, ’01, ’05

Lulu McCullough and Susie Belcher P’97, ’02

In Brief Steven Erlanger ’70 was part of a nine-person New York Times reporting team that won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism both before and after Sept. 11, 2001. The series that nine reporters collaborated on was called “Holy Warriors,” published sequentially in January 2001, well before the terrorist attacks in the eastern US came about on Sept. 11, 2001. The idea for an investigative unit to pursue stories that were just under the radar screen of headline news began in 1999 and was under Erlanger’s direction. The subject of their superb investigative series, Al Qaeda, ended up being the central player in the biggest and most tragic story of terrorism later that year.

Erlanger is bureau chief in Berlin, Germany, for the New York Times.

Rev. Fred Small ’70 helped found an interfaith environmental group in 2001 called Religious Witness for the Earth. The advocacy group organized June 2002 gatherings in six New England states to ask governors to implement a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to lessen global warming. Small is a minister serving at First Unitarian Church in Littleton, Mass.

Willy MacMullen and the Fraker family

Tony Halsey P’01, Joe Toce P’98, ’01, ’05, M.J. Dickson P’98, ’03 and Joe Berandino P’01

SPOTLIGHT

Ward Belcher P’97, ’02 and Joan Goodwin P’00

SAVE THE DATE! Don’t forget Grandparents’ Day on Friday, April 11, 2003.

For more information please call the Alumni Office at 1-800-959-8238 Billy Toce ’01, Senter Johnson ’00, Michelle Holmes ’00 and Shep Halsey ’01

Willy MacMullen ’78 and A.J. Mleczko Griswold ’93 Taft Bulletin Fall 2002

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pond Welcoming Parents, Students, and Teachers

John Barber ’03 helps Keegan Fraker ’06 (right) move in.

Pam and Willy MacMullen greet Kitty Herlinger Hillman ’76 and her son Dan ’06 on opening day 10

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Taft’s 2002–2003 school year got off to its usual upbeat start with Headmaster Willy MacMullen ’78 addressing parents, students, and teachers in Centennial Courtyard on a sunny fall day. The school welcomed 217 new students, making the student body soar to 569. MacMullen told the students, “You’ve entered a place that’s going to challenge you on the inside and on the outside,” and added that taking risks and being open to new ideas is wise.

Taft’s entire student body now comes from 35 states and 24 foreign countries.

English-Speaking Union exchange student from Scotland, Georgina Harding-Edgar with her mother, Jennifer (right and center), and Helen Flanagan Goblirsch ’03 from Panama (left)

New Faces on the Faculty Alison Binkowski, Teaching Fellow in Math Mark Bodnar, Director of Technology David Bonner, College Counseling and Football Ellen Bonner, Dormitory Head, Congdon William J. Coyle., Assistant Business Manager Constantine Demetracopoulos, Mailliard Teaching Fellow in Spanish Aissatou Diop, French Jennifer S. Dunfee, Chaplaincy Fellow David Griffith, Science J. Michael Harney, Teaching Fellow in Math Stephen Jackson, College Counseling and English Jonas Jeswald, Teaching Fellow in Spanish Donald Padgett, Mathematics Julie Palombo, Carpenter Teaching Fellow in French Jason Tandon, English and Learning Center Christopher Torino, English

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Mandala of Long Life The Potter Gallery opened Taft’s 2002–2003 school year by hosting the creation of a Mandala of Long Life by Tibetan Buddhist monks from the Drepung Gomang Monastic University located in Karnataka state, southern India. The intricate sand mandala was constructed in the gallery in mid-September with a closing ceremony of chanting. Once the mandala is finished, to symbolize the impermanence of all that exists, the colored sands are swept up and poured into a nearby river or stream to send healing energies throughout, the world. The purpose of the monks US

Paduano Lecture Series 2002–03 This year the series is dedicated to the green theme as a way to continue discussion of the environmental awareness theme raised by Taft’s all-school summer reading of Ishmael.

Events scheduled so far are:

tour is to share the compassion and wisdom of ancient Tibetan Buddhist culture with North Americans.

The Tibetan monks travel so far from their home in India in order to raise much-needed funds to insure the survival of their culture-in-exile. Drepung Gomang Monastery houses, feeds, and educates those who want to study at this monastic center of higher learning including orphans and refugees fleeing Chinese-occupied Tibet.

The monks’ tour began in August 2000. Since then, they have created over 15 sand mandalas, mostly throughout the East Coast including many at private schools such as Taft, St. Paul’s, Phillips Exeter, and Spence. The monks have also visited hospitals and created a medicine Buddha mandala at a Vietnamese temple in the Northeast.

Nov. 4 Alan Thornhill, Executive Director of the Center for Conservation Biology Jan. 13 Prof. John R. McNeill, Georgetown Professor and author of Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-Century World May 9 Performance of the Missa Gaia (Earth Mass), Paul Halley with Theresa Thompson Established in 1999 by Daniel and Nancy Paduano, parents of John P. Paduano, class of ’99, the Paduano Lecture Series funds a program of visiting speakers in support of the Philosophy, Religion, and Ethics Department at Taft. Visiting speakers, selected from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, address the students and faculty and visit classes during their stay at the school.

Studying Islam Rick Davis ’59, Taft history department, attended a workshop for teachers this summer on “Islam in the Modern World,” sponsored in part by Hartford Seminary, one of the top two or three institutions of higher learning in the US specializing in Islam. “It was a quite useful and practical workshop,” Davis says, “and it fit in perfectly with my plans

to develop a senior elective course on ‘Islam and the West’ to be offered this coming second semester.”

Connecticut public radio station, WNPR, visited the workshop and interviewed participants about why they were attending, how it was, and what they hoped to do with what they learned. WNPR did a radio piece on Connecticut pub-

lic education’s attempt to deal with Islam in light of Sept. 11, 2001.

Comments made by Davis and a fellow teacher from Ethel Walker (the two private school teachers among 19 public school colleagues) were later aired on WNPR.

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Mark W. Potter ’48 Gallery Schedule for 2002–03 October 1–30 Kate Jellinghaus ’89 “In the Artist’s Workshop” A student of Mark Potter at Taft, Kate received degrees in history and Italian studies from Stanford University and is completeing her MFA in Bulgaria. She returns to Taft as a Rockwell Visiting Artist.

November 8–December 12 Kendall Ayoub ’92 “Personalities” Another of Taft’s artist alumni, Kendall is the second Rockwell Visiting Artist in the Potter Gallery this year. A graduate of Concordia University and a dedicated outdoorswoman, Kendall is a portrait artist.

January–February To be announced April Taft Student Visual Arts Current student work in drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, and ceramics is displayed every year in the Gallery.

May Ralph Lee ’53 Theater masks, giant figures, and puppets by the founder and director of the Mettawee River Theatre Company.

Portraits by Kendall Ayoub The Mark Potter Gallery is exhibiting a solo show of portraits by Kendall Ayoub ’92 from Nov. 8 through Dec. 12, 2002. Kendall was a Rockwell Visiting Artist at School in early November, demonstrating portraiture techniques in drawing and painting to beginning, intermediate, and advanced students.

Ayoub studied painting at Bennington College and at Concordia University in Montreal, receiving her BFA in painting and drawing from Concordia University in 1997. After graduating, Ayoub worked for AstralTech, a 2-D-animation company in Montreal and also designed 3-D backgrounds for video games for Ubisoft Entertainment.

Kendall completed a Yukon Educator Course with National Outdoor Leadership School in 1999 and began leading wilderness adventure trips for Canadian outdoor centers. She is currently a full-time employee with Outward Bound Canada, leading whitewater canoe trips, sea kayaking expeditions, hiking trips, cross-country skiing, and dogsled trips in Northern Ontario. Ayoub has exhibited her work at the V.A.V. Gallery and Café X in Montreal and at Gallery 109 in Toronto and has twice been the recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant for excellence in figurative and/or representational painting.

“When painting a portrait, I get the chance to spend a few hours a day, a few times a week, talking and laughing with someone who is important to me. I look closely at what aspects make up the expression and being of my subject and translate them into the myriad hues of a flower petal or the subtleties of texture and line in a face. The very art of composing and executing my work is a prolonged act of presence and commitment. Personality seeps through the process of creating the product, manipulating the medium and engaging myself with the subject. The finished piece is a unified expression that emerges from shared dreams, nourished bonds and a “Catherine,” 1999, Kendall common understanding of artist, subject, and viewer.

“As an artist, painting and drawing brings me to Ayoub painting, (oil on canvas) the present moment, slows the hectic pace of postmodernism, and infuses me with an appreciation of the life that surrounds me. The viewer is not merely a witness to a past moment captured in time, but a participant in the process of knowing the person or matter portrayed. The finished piece is a unified expression that emerges from the relationship between the artist and the subject.

The aspects of time, passion and close examination through mood and color are what make painting and drawing ageless.”

—Kendall Ayoub ’92 12 Taft Bulletin Fall 2002

“Studio 51,” 2001, Kate Jellinghaus, (oil on board)

In the Artist’s Workshop The work of painter Kate Jellinghaus ’89 was exhibited in the Mark Potter Gallery in a solo show called In the Artist’s Workshop in October. Kate was a Rockwell Visiting Artist at School during that time, demonstrating painting technique. Jellinghaus is completing her MFA in Painting under Professor Andrei Daniel at the National Academy of Art in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Kate has been the studio art teacher at Taft Summer School since 1999. Before she began her graduate studies in painting she was a teaching fellow for the Professional English Language Teaching Program of the Soros Foundation in Bulgaria and an ESL teacher through Stanford’s Students for Eastern European Development Program. She is a volunteer worker for the Pokrov Foundation in Sofia, participating in outreach programs to Bulgarian orphanages, including the translation of a book of poetry by Bulgarian orphans.

Kate has shown her photography in solo exhibitions at Stanford University (where she did her undergraduate work), Gallery May in Sliven, Bulgaria, the National Academy of Art, in Sofia, the Pokrov Foundation, and the EuroBulgarian Center in Sofia. Her paintings were shown this year at the Union of Bulgarian Artists’ Gallery also in the capital.

AROUND THE POND

Frugivores in Brazil Debbie Phipps, teacher and head of Taft’s English Department, spent part of her summer traveling to Brazil as part of an Earthwatch grant. Debbie wrote these comments for the Bulletin: “Supported by the Klingenstein Foundation, I traveled to the Pantanal re-

gion of Brazil in August to work on an Earthwatch conservation project through their education awards program. The Pantanal, roughly the size of Iowa and accessible by small charter planes, is a large wetlands area which, because of its diverse geography and dramatic seasonal changes, supports a greater variety of plants and animals than the more famous Amazon region to the north. Over 450 species of birds lived on the ranchland where we stayed, and the endangered jaguars and hyacinth macaws shared the same acreage.

“My project introduced ten volunteers to researchers studying frugivores, the fruiteating animal population: tapirs, toucans, peccaries, monkeys, agouti, curassows, and other large birds. We measured trees and charted their fruit production, mapped

rookeries, observed roosting sites, noted animal census figures along the river as well as on trails, and learned lab techniques by measuring fruit and dung samples. In addition to participating in research designed to help the conservation effort in the Pantanal, we learned a great deal about Brazilian culture, politics, and history, though our Portuguese improved only slightly, despite our desires to learn more of the mellifluous language.

“The best part, for me, was working with such a spirited group of volunteers and having the opportunity to observe some outstanding teachers. Anyone who could prompt excitement about dung collection knows how to inspire his audience, and I learned as much about teaching as I did about frugivores.”

Davis Fellowships for International Travel multiple routes to Santiago, and none of them is easy, but the pilgrim must persevere.

Although my path to Santiago was made easier by modern conveniences and by the timely interventions of friends old and new, I found it marked by astonishing moments of insight, clarity and challenge. What I found when I reached my goal exceeded everything I’d imagined in twenty years of dreaming about this trip. The serenity of the cathedral’s central cloister was all the more profound because it was surrounded by throngs of foot-sore walkers, saddle-weary bikers, and earnest seekers. I am so grateful to have been among them.” Beasley brings a deep understanding of the pilgrimage back to the Taft classroom.

Rick Lansdale plans to travel to Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, the interior, and Kruger National Park in South Africa during spring break and again next summer. He will bring his knowledge back to the lower-mid English classes whose students in recent years have read Alan Paton’s novel, Cry the Beloved Country, a number of Nadine Gordimer’s short stories, and Athol Fugard’s play, “Master Harold”…

and the Boys. In addition to reading these works, students also give oral presentations about everything from the geography of South Africa to historical and current events.

Lansdale will take a summer seminar at the University of Cape Town, see the contemporary theater festival in Grahamstown, tour a gold or diamond mine, and visit one of the homelands. Through his journeys, Lansdale seeks to experience the differences between the lives of the people who own the farms in the interior and the people who work them.

JANE NELSEN

Two members of the English Department, Sara Beasley and Rick Lansdale, were named as recipients of the Davis Fellowship for international travel and study. The Davis Fellowship was established in 1997 by Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey D. Davis and their daughter, Whitney J. Davis ’97, to promote excellence in teaching by encouraging members of the English, history, and foreign language departments to pursue cultural and scholarly experiences through international travel and study in order to broaden and deepen their capacity as classroom teachers.

Sara Beasley writes, “The Davis Fellowship permitted me to travel to Santiago de Compostela, Spain, the timeless destination of pilgrims from all over the world. I was in a college English course on Geoffrey Chaucer when I first conceived the desire to see for myself the great cathedral in this ancient town. My college professor had spoken of the importance of pilgrimage, of the possibilities that emerge from a solo journey that is also shared by others. In traveling to and through northern Spain, I sought to learn about a culture and land that has attracted multitudes for hundreds of years. There are

Jeff and Sandy Davis, founders of the Davis Fellowship, at their home in London Taft Bulletin Fall 2002

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The

John L. Vogelstein Dormitory W

By Will Miller ’74 Chair, Board of Trustees inston Churchill once wrote an essay about the impact that the physical form of the House of Commons has had on his country’s history and politics—from shaping the nature of political debate to adding words to the English language, like “backbencher.” In that essay he wrote,“First we shape our buildings. Thereafter, they shape us.”

The truth of this adage is readily apparent at Taft. Taft is a more close-knit community than many boarding schools, in part because so many of our buildings are physically knit together. Our students and faculty know each other so well, in part because the halls of Taft have been intentionally designed with nooks and crannies into which small groups of people can slip to talk, study, laugh, cry, and connect with each other. The quality of our classrooms, athletic facilities, performance spaces, and major common areas is intended to elicit a

response from each member of the community to strive for his or her personal best.

It is in this spirit that the John L. Vogelstein ’52 Dormitory has been added to the Taft community this year.

The campus of the Taft School, like the School itself, has a unique character.

In the 1890s, Mr. Taft’s vision for his school led him to engage Bertram Goodhue, one of the leading American architects of his day, to design the first significant new building on the Watertown campus. Goodhue was the

䉴

“We’ve been given more than just a building— more than a space; we’ve been given a symbol of our motto “Not to be served but to serve.”

We’ve got a fitting symbol of John Vogelstein himself—towering, dignified, and permanent.”

—Willy MacMullen 14

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Dedicating the Foyer and Grand Stairways

Majestic Bricks and Mortar

’52

PHOTOGRAPHY BY VICKERS & BEECHLER

Taft Bulletin Fall 2002

15

Will Miller continued

architect of such landmark buildings as New York’s St. Bartholomew’s Church, the Los Angeles Public Library, and the Nebraska State Capitol. He set the tone for the campus when he chose to design HDT (Horace D. Taft Hall) in a redbrick scholastic gothic style reminiscent of parts of Oxford or Cambridge.

In the 1920s, Mr. Taft once again chose from among the nation’s finest architects when he hired James Gamble

The Dedication

By Linda Beyus he crisp, sunny day that followed a tropical storm’s rains made the dedication of the John L. Vogelstein ’52 Dormitory even more joyous.

John and his two sons, Fred ’80 and Andrew ’85, were photographed next to the commemorative portrait of them that hangs in the hallway of the new girls’ dormitory, a tribute to this extraordinarily generous donor.

T Fred ’80, Barbara, John ’52, Andrew ’85, and Monica Vogelstein

Rafe de la Gueronniere ’70, Grant Porter ’69, and Steve Potter ’73 dedicate the Foyer and Grand Stairways.

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Taft Bulletin Fall 2002

Early in the day, Taft’s trustees toured the dorm, getting a glimpse of the quality construction and design used, followed by the dedication of the foyer and stairway given to the School by Grant A. Porter ’69.

The entire School, along with assembled guests, gathered in Bingham Auditorium and listened to the thunderous sound of bagpipes and drums echo down CPT’s corridors as the procession of trustees marched in for the dedication ceremonies. Chaplain Michael Spencer gave the invocation prior to Collegium Musicum singing “Untraveled Worlds,” a rousing piece written specifically for Taft’s choral group by composer Paul Halley. The lyrics, from Tennyson’s “Ulysses,” speak of the journey to which students and

all people are called: “All experience is an arch where through Gleams that untraveled world….

To follow knowledge like a sinking star…

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”

Headmaster Willy MacMullen ’78 paid tribute to the building contractors, O & G Industries, by thanking Greg Oneglia ’65, vice chairman, and Jason Travelstead ’88, project manager, along with Lou Cherichetti who oversaw the building project for Taft. Willy eloquently thanked John L. Vogelstein, former Chair of the Board of Trustees, for his exceptional generosity and vision.

Former Headmaster Lance Odden thanked Grant Porter and new Board Chair Will Miller ’74, who, during his 24 years on Taft’s board, spearheaded the

Majestic Bricks and Mortar Rogers to create CPT (Charles Phelps Taft Hall). Rogers was the designer of Yale’s Memorial Quadrangle (now Branford and Saybrook Colleges), Sterling Memorial Library, and most of the important buildings on the Yale campus from that period. He also designed the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City and the Butler Library at Columbia University. Gamble Rogers chose to design CPT in the same red-

brick gothic as Goodhue, but he developed his own interpretation of the elements of this style. The two buildings are harmonious with one another, yet distinct in their details, creating as it were a dialogue between two voices speaking the same language with different accents.

With this tradition in mind, Taft has been reshaping its campus over the last three decades to meet the needs of the school in the twenty-first century. Like 䉴

“We should be forever grateful to Will Miller because he taught us that the beauty of the buildings we inherit and live in elevates our understanding of the possible and I think that this latest building will do that better than any of those we have built. However great Will’s designs have been, they would have come to naught if it weren’t for the generosity of the man we honor here today: John Vogelstein.”

—Lance Odden

Willy MacMullen ’78, Fred Vogelstein ’80, John Vogelstein ’52, Andrew Vogelstein ’85, Lance Odden, Will Miller ’74, and Grant Porter ’69

campus transformation with unsurpassed quality architecture. Odden also gave praise to John Vogelstein for his generosity and his remarkable stewardship with many organizations.

Miller echoed the sentiments of both MacMullen and Odden saying, “The [new] dormitory that now stands…is only the latest and most tangible example of John’s personal commitment to the school and it is altogether fitting that generations of students to come will say they live in Vogelstein, unconscious perhaps, that if they live up to the ideals of the school, they’ll be living in John’s spirit as well as his building.” Miller also gave high praise to Robert Stern and fellow architects who adeptly framed the new dorm’s design with the school’s architectural history.

When John Vogelstein spoke, he received a standing ovation, not once, but twice, as he shared his memories of Taft in the past and the transformed Taft today.

The profound changes at Taft over the years “stirred his imagination and dedication,” he said.

Collegium Musicum sang “Taft Forever” before the bagpipers led trustees and invited guests outdoors for the ribbon-cutting ceremony on the new dormitory’s terrace.

John Vogelstein cut the ceremonial ribbon as the stone-carved names of John L. Vogelstein and sons, Fred and Andrew, gleamed in the sun over the exquisite building’s doorway.

Lance Odden and John Vogelstein

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Majestic Bricks and Mortar Will Miller continued

Mr. Taft, we have sought out some of the best architects our nation has to offer. We have challenged them to create a campus that combines harmony and distinction.

Our strategy has been to pursue a diversity of interpretations of a style, rather than

“I envy the students of Taft. You attend a spectacular institution with a superb faculty that will challenge you every day because they care so deeply. The education you receive will be outstanding, and the environment in which you live, nurturing and supportive. All this will expand your minds and influence the kind of individuals you become….Wherever you go, I hope you will leave here with a keen sense of service to others and that you will always remember what Taft has done for you.”

a diversity of styles. In the last 20 years, Herbert Newman has designed the Arts and Humanities Center and Centennial Dormitory, Tom Beeby has created the Paul and Edith Cruikshank Gymnasium, and Graham Gund has added the Lady Ivy Kwok Wu Science and Mathematics Center and the Odden Hockey Arena.

Each presents a subtly different take on the scholastic gothic style.

The latest addition to this dialogue is the John L. Vogelstein ’52 Dormitory. The firm of Robert A.M. Stern Architects in New York was chosen to design the build-

—John L. Vogelstein

Construction as Craft Greg Oneglia ’65 and Jason Travelstead ’88 build the John L. Vogelstein ’52 Dormitory

By Linda Beyus When Greg Oneglia ’65 was considering coming to Taft as a lower-mid, he especially liked the feel and look of the campus because it felt like one large building. The structures Greg loved back then and continues to build on this campus are only one example of his commitment to a school that is deeply part of his family’s background.

All five of his children have attended Taft—Jessica ’88, Thomas ’93, Daniel ’95, Christina ’98, and now Matthew ’03.

Oneglia, vice-chairman of O & G Industries and a Taft trustee, worked on the massive John L. Vogelstein ’52 Dormitory building project with sonin-law Jason Travelstead ’88, project 18

Taft Bulletin Fall 2002

manager, who in turn is married to Jessica Oneglia Travelstead ’88, Taft’s Director of the Annual Fund.

“What is most amazing to me,” Oneglia says, “is that the new dorm looks like it’s been part of the school forever. When the scaffolding and the canvas that protected the building all winter came down this spring, the building looked as if it had been here all along. They [the designers] did a masterful job of integrating it.”

He also noted that the planners— Robert A.M. Stern Architects and the Planning Committee of the Board of Trustees—did a great job with the massing, which is the scale of the project, and

also with the selection of materials including cast stone arches, a slate roof, and exceptional millwork from a local firm.

When asked about O & G’s history of building projects here at Taft, Greg listed the revamped main circle and internal roads, Geoffrey C. Camp Field, McCullough Field House, Lady Ivy Kwok Wu Science and Mathematics Center, Odden Arena, and the recently-completed John L. Vogelstein ’52 Dormitory.

One of the things that most impresses Oneglia, is how well thought out and skillfully planned Taft’s building projects are. In the case of the Vogelstein project, the fact that it was

ing from a national list of top-notch architects. Stern, who is Dean of the Yale School of Architecture, has built an international reputation for his skill in designing a wide variety of buildings that complement their architectural and historical contexts. Stern’s firm has extensive expertise in academic architecture and planning as well, having designed the library at St. Paul’s School and served as the master planners for Georgetown University, for example.

Several locations for the new dormitory were considered, including placing it west 䉴 Board Chair Will Miller ’74 thanks Grant Porter ’69 for his generosity in naming the Foyer and Grand Stairways in memory of his parents Kenneth Porter, Jr., and Joan H. Porter. Grant made this gift with his wife Christina and their daughter Christina C. Porter ’00.

Jason Travelstead ’88, left, with his fatherin-law Greg Oneglia ’65 in front of the new girls’ dormitory

so well organized, Greg notes, is due especially to Will Miller ’74, Chair, Board of Trustees, and Lance Odden, former Headmaster. Reminiscing about his exceptional former teacher, Oneglia says, “Of all the people in my life, other than my father, Mr. Odden was a huge help to me personally and to my family over the years.”

Greg Oneglia probably never dreamed he’d be constructing buildings like those he admired as a Taft lower-mid over 40 years ago.

Student residents Marisa Ryan ’03 and Courtney Reardon ’03 enjoying their new dormitory room.

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Majestic Bricks and Mortar Will Miller continued

Will Miller ’74, Robert A.M. Stern, Willy MacMullen ’78, and Lance Odden

John Vogelstein greeting student residents of the new dormitory

of Centennial or replacing “The Rock.” The location at the end of the history wing of CPT was selected because of the opportunity to integrate classrooms on the lower floors of the new building with the teaching space in CPT and to create a new outdoor quadrangle in the space between the new dorm and Bingham Auditorium. Attaching the new dorm to the complex of the CPT/ HDT buildings also reinforces the “connectedness” of the campus, which is an essential characteristic of Taft.

The Vogelstein dorm has a number of interesting architectural features that, on the one hand, relate it to life at Taft and the rest

John Vogelstein addresses the assembled guests.

of the campus and, on the other hand, give the dorm its own unique identity. The student living spaces are configured as pairs of rooms connected by an internal door. This permits great flexibility in housing arrangements. A pair can be a double in which the student occupants share a bedroom and a study—or they can be separated into two singles. Faculty apartments are integrated into the dorm so that each floor is connected to one or two faculty residences to help integrate teachers into dorm life. There is a common room on each floor situated to exploit views of the rest of the Taft campus.

“Connectedness” has been designed in at the

Rafe de la Gueronniere ’70, Willy MacMullen ’78, Steve Potter ’73, and Grant Porter ’69

Construction as Craft continued

When asked why he switched to construction management as his career instead of law, Jason Travelstead ’88 smiles and says that he knew in his second year of law school that he didn’t want a legal profession.

Travelstead’s grandfather had been a contractor and his father was a developer, so it was natural for him to go into this field.

Jason worked for the US Geological Survey after attending the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College doing legal research in Colorado 20

Taft Bulletin Fall 2002

while his wife Jessica Oneglia Travelstead ’88, was studying for her MBA at the University of Denver. When his fatherin-law, Greg Oneglia ’65, asked Jason if he’d like to come on board with O & G Industries, he accepted and moved east.

While Travelstead was highly committed to the Vogelstein Dormitory building project from the start, he had a special concern for his alma mater. “I really didn’t want to screw this up,” he said, laughing. Travelstead feels that Taft has made alumni proud of the institution at all levels, but especially with its high qual-

ity facilities. “It’s been very satisfying to get to know the faculty again,” he says, having been on site here for 16 months.

Jason enjoys working for a private owner, such as a school, best since the communication and working relationships are tremendous. Before his Taft building project he worked on facilities at Millbrook School.

With respect to unique architectural aspects of the Taft Vogelstein Dormitory building, Travelstead highlights the lead-coated copper on the building’s exterior. Looking at plans

micro as well as at the macro levels.

On a larger scale, the building serves as a visual bridge between the campus and the surrounding community of Watertown by being aligned for most of its length with the grid of CPT, but then turning at its eastern end to align with the streets and houses of the town. Connectedness is a concept we wanted to extend to include our neighbors.

The design of the John L. Vogelstein ’52 Dormitory was shaped by the values of the Taft School. As Churchill’s words suggest, the new dorm will in turn help shape the lives of generations of Taft students to come.

A light-filled language classroom in the new dormitory

The Foyer and Grand Stairways

early on, he wondered how this material would work and appear—he confirms that it looks great. In addition, the millwork, critical to the building’s integrity, had to be very high quality. The red oak woodwork gives the new girls’ dormitor y a warmth that is the hallmark of many older buildings here at Taft. “We’ve got a building everyone will be proud of,” Travelstead states. He says that the Vogelstein Dormitory construction project is likely to be submitted by O & G for industry awards.

Chip Spencer ’56, Penny Townsend, Patsy Odden, Jeff Atwood ’85, Jennifer Atwood, and Monica Vogelstein Taft Bulletin Fall 2002

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HUBERT S CHRIEBL

The

W

hy would a corporate executive decide to start a ski area from raw wilderness in 1960 after being told it wouldn’t be profitable and that the odds were fully against its success? If this was not enough of a hurdle, Frank V. Snyder ’39 faced investor after investor who said no to the project that would become Stratton Mountain in southern Vermont and now one of New England’s largest ski areas.

Challenge of

Frank V. Snyder ’39 Builds Stratton Ski Area in 1960

Frank Snyder on an International Harvester TD-15 trail-blazing bulldozer, 1960

HUBERT S CHRIEBL

By Linda Beyus

HUBERT S CHRIEBL

When asked why he decided to start a ski area, Snyder said, “What was it that Mallory said about why he climbed Everest? Because it’s there,” he laughed. “I really don’t know why I did it—I just kind of backed into it.” Jessie, Snyder’s wife, said, “I think he was intrigued with the challenge of building a ski area that would be a sound business, as well as being a good place to ski.” Snyder proceeded to tell Taft’s Bulletin the story of Stratton’s origins as if it had happened yesterday, not 40 years ago.

Partly, Snyder had thought about how good it would be for his own family to have a ski area closer to their home in Greenwich. They had been skiing at Stowe for many years, a long drive from southern Connecticut. While looking at maps of the state on a ride home, he

Frank Snyder in classic parallel form in the mid-1970s

FRANK V. SNYDER ’39 discovered that there was a 4,000foot peak in southern Vermont that was not yet developed. Through word-of-mouth, he met an instructor from Stowe named Bob Wright who had a plan with other potential partners to start a ski area on Stratton Mountain. Snyder offered to invest if Wright could find other committed investors, a task that would not be easy. As far as nearby competition, there was only Mt. Snow, which Snyder describes as in a state of disrepair in those days.

Snyder, then partner of Moore and Munger, a family business that manufactured petroleum-based products, decided to work with Wright and a core group of supporters who had a vision of creating this new ski area in southern Vermont’s snowbelt. Snyder soon realized that Wright wouldn’t be able to get the project fully off the

t n a i u n o M a A very young ski area—Stratton’s original trails, 1961 䉲

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THE CHALLENGE OF A MOUNTAIN HUBERT S CHRIEBL

Frank’s brother, Phil Snyder ’38 (at right) at groundbreaking for Stratton’s Carlos Otis Clinic, 1971

ground, so he decided to lead the venture himself. Not only did Snyder jump on board the fledgling project, he exerted strong, creative leadership and management from the start, abilities he’d honed over the years.

While the ambitious search for investors was on, Frank and Jessie hiked the undeveloped Stratton Mountain one fall day in 1959, coming down in the dark just before Tink Smith and other local supporters were about to send out a search party.

Snyder decided to partner with Smith, an intrepid Vermonter and local wood products manufacturer who, like Snyder himself, had the willpower and guts to see the Stratton ski area built. Tink Smith owned some property on Stratton Mountain and International Paper owned the rest, which they were happy to let go of since it had been heavily logged decades before.

When asked why Stratton Mountain seemed so special as a potential ski area, 24

Taft Bulletin Fall 2002

Snyder said he was impressed with its shape; it had few ledges which was a plus since ledges made for icy runoff. Its summit was a mile long and skiable, plus it was in an area with heavy snowfall.

Snyder and Smith became the engines of the fledgling development project, with help from others such as Vermont Senator Ed Janeway. With steady leadership and management skills gained from both busi-

Frank Snyder boating at Martha’s Vineyard this summer

ness and sailing, Snyder found investors who wanted to see the new ski area created on Stratton. Colleagues led him to the National Commercial Bank of Albany, whose president was Frank McCabe ’20.

While describing the project to McCabe, Snyder was pleased to find out that his prospective banker happened to be a Taft graduate. McCabe and the bank’s lending board eventually backed the Stratton project, allowing them to move forward on purchasing needed equipment, like the International Harvester TD-15 bulldozer (pictured on page 22), top-quality chairlifts, and the thousand other things needed to run a ski area.

From the beginning, Snyder wanted Stratton to be unique and have the feel of the Austrian ski areas that he and Jessie loved visiting. It had to have a fun atmosphere with music playing outdoors, and architecture with an Austrian flavor.

FRANK V. SNYDER ’39 “We’ve got to build the best ski area with the best ski school, the best lifts, the best of everything,” Snyder told partner Tink Smith, “and if we do that, I know it’ll be successful.” They hired expert instructors some of whom also played musical instruments, insuring the atmosphere Snyder envisioned by offering Tyrolean evenings with music and dancing.

Fast forward to Stratton’s final push toward opening day in late December 1961. Snyder and Smith nearly didn’t open on time until a small miracle happened.

Another Stowe skier, Serge Gagarin of United Aircraft, contacted Snyder and arranged for helicopters to airlift the chairlift towers in place on the newlybulldozed slopes, something that had never been done at a ski area. Even the Today Show came to photograph this amazing operation that took 12 hours and hauled 20 tons of equipment up a rugged mountain. The access road still had bulldozers clearing it as undaunted skiers arrived at Stratton Mountain for the Dec. 23 opening day. Snyder and his partners

Jessie and Frank at their Vineyard summer home

had realized their dream.

Vision and tenacity were stamped all over this Stratton project. Building a ski area closer to Connecticut for convenience really wasn’t the main reason Snyder committed himself so fully to creating Stratton Mountain. He now says that he felt starting a high quality ski area would be a huge challenge and this is what whetted his appetite most of all. Snyder still says the word “challenge” with a-unwavering deep voice.

One can tell he has faced, even welcomed, more than his share of these

over many years. And for Snyder, Stratton’s creation really wasn’t ever about making money.

His own dedication, and that of Tink Smith’s, to starting Stratton was also fueled by a strong belief that they could do a good job at it. This dedication to creating something, whether a new ski area or anything else, reminds Snyder of Taft School, a place where he learned about commitment. Snyder asserts that dedication is why people like former Headmaster Lance Odden and all other teachers do what they do—it’s the desire to make a difference and be good leaders.

In the midst of the Stratton undertaking, Snyder recalls his father asking him, “Do you think you have the strength to do this?” His father added the warning, “[Later on], just remember what I asked you.” Forty-two years later, Snyder easily remembers those prophetic words of a father he describes as stoic. “We knew we had a father and mother who were very strong,” he says.

Suntanner lift and trail, 1962 HUBERT S CHRIEBL

Taft Bulletin Fall 2002

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THE CHALLENGE OF A MOUNTAIN

Illustration by Tommy Detmer ’03

His parents loved the outdoors, something that their sons Frank ’39 and Phil ’38 mirrored in their own lives.

Regarding the creation of Stratton Mountain as a ski area, Snyder reflects, “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I could not have done it if I hadn’t gone to Taft School.” Snyder also learned a great deal about discipline during his time rowing on varsity crew for Harvard. He was told he’d have to put one hundred percent of his strength into every stroke. “That discipline stayed with me,” he notes, adding, “You can fight your way through if you dedicate yourself.” The intensity of rowing for Harvard and an education at Taft School were “the two defining things in my life,” Snyder states with satisfaction.

Frank Snyder’s older brother Phil ’38, a former Taft trustee, also played an important role at Stratton with his determination to build an on-mountain medical clinic. The Carlos Otis Stratton Mountain Clinic was established in 1972, named after Dr. Carlos Otis from nearby Townshend who helped save the life of Phil’s wife Frances, when she had been severely injured while hiking in the area. Phil 26

Taft Bulletin Fall 2002

invested his own money in the Stratton Corporation that Frank had launched, along with their mother who invested when the new corporation most needed help.

“Phil was a man of great character,” Frank says, “just like our father.” Phil was one year ahead of Frank at Taft—“He leaned on me a little bit,” Frank says, smiling. “We were very loyal to each other.”

He notes that Taft was a very challenging school in those days. It was a five-year school, so he entered when he was only 12 years old. Snyder laughs and says he was known as “Little Snyder,” something that seems impossible when meeting this strong man in person today.

Phil’s class at Yale, Frank pointed out, received their 1942 diplomas early in order to send graduates off to war. Phil, along with Frank, served in the Navy during dangerous times. Frank was a 21-year-old submarine officer and Phil served on a battleship that was part of the Battle of Philippines and the Battle of Okinawa. Frank says Phil’s ship had some very close calls. The Snyder brothers learned both discipline and courage as young men serving in World War II. Snyder’s tenacity comes from his up-

bringing. His education at Taft and rowing at Harvard taught him that discipline he’s used in all his ventures, from business decisions to transocean sailing. “The real stresses, in business, as in life” Snyder says, “are personal and personnel problems—people who are shooting from the bushes, trying to cut you down. You can’t let your anger take over; you need to stay cool and collected.”

Frank Snyder led a project that defied the odds, using skills he had learned everywhere, from Taft to Harvard to the corporate world. He brought management and leadership skills to the Stratton Mountain development, making sure there was ongoing reassessment in order to stay with their corporate vision. It’s apparent that he and partners were smart enough to change their tactics when needed and by ensuring that they had the best managers in place.

The phrase “Renaissance man” fits Snyder’s amazing array of skills and interests. Frank and Jessie are avid sailors, even crossing the Pacific on an 11-month voyage. Prior to that trip, Frank sailed in the solo Bermuda Race from Newport “as a tune-up,” he says, for their Pacific trip.

Snyder authored a book called Life Under Sail with Macmillan in 1963, and is currently writing a civil war novel. For many years he served as the commodore of the New York Yacht Club and continues to sail as well as ski. He and Jessie have homes in Greenwich, Conn., on Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. and in Snowmass, Colo..

Grateful acknowledgment to The Stratton Story, Martha Sonnenfeld and Frank V. Snyder, Stratton ,VT.: Stratton Corporation, 1981, for background material

Jonathan ’73 with his father Frank ’39, at Martha’s Vineyard

Travels That Transform Taft Students use their Poole Grants to travel, serve, and learn

By Rick Lansdale

W

e’re busy here. As soon as the year opens, students are challenged at every turn, and the ordinary day of a Taft student is packed with activity. He or she is off and running at the first bell— to breakfast, classes, school meetings, sports or rehearsals, dinner, study hall, the social scene, and then, maybe, but probably not until later, to sleep. Taft students take no small pride in the amount of work that gets done. It’s part of the training, the discipline, the rigor of the place. Some students need even more, those whose horizons stretch far beyond the school’s gates and the confines of friendly Watertown. And although the school is more connected outwardly than ever, and although electronic portals can be found in every dormitory room, visiting a web page is still no substitute for visiting a foreign country. “There is a world elsewhere,” Shakespeare’s Coriolanus tells us, and it is into that world that the largest number of Poole Grant recipients traveled this last summer.

Named for Robert Poole ’50, who served in the Peace Corps and devoted most of his adult life to environmental preservation, the Poole Grants help selected students travel abroad and perform community service. From the Gobi Desert to Iceland, from Latin America to Eastern Europe, this past summer Taft students found themselves working on building projects, participating in school enrichment programs, assisting in homeless shelters, and manning understaffed hospital wards. Their experiences have brought that larger world back to Taft.

Here are a few of their stories.

Rick Lansdale is a teacher of English and director of the Independent Studies Program at Taft.

TRAVELS THAT TRANSFORM

Neena Qasba ’02 I recently returned to American soil, and all I can think about is my new home on the other side of the world. Combining travel, home stay, and community service, my monthlong adventure was an enlightening and gratifying experience. I had joined 11 other teenagers from Connecticut, New York, California, and one from the Czech Republic to partake in the Experiment for International Living Program, an international organization that combines an array of activities to create an amazing experience for their participants. I wanted to learn more about Chile. All I knew before I went was that Chile was a long skinny country bordering Argentina, but now I know it’s the economic and social powerhouse of South America.

I could describe the majestic Andes, the crystal blue Pacific, or the divine and

diverse topographical wonder of the world, San Pedro de Atacama, but the most astounding and fulfilling aspect of my visit was not a natural creation but the two-week home stay with my Chilean family. Sleeping, eating, talking, and being with the Castillo family in La Serena, was an amazing opportunity. Bonding with my new younger sisters and discussing hot topics with my host dad, Pato, the two weeks seemed pathetically short. In Chile, I volunteered at local homeless shelters, transformed strangers into family, saw marvelous sights, and practiced my improving Spanish. I know I only sampled the beauty and kindness of such a diverse region and people. I thank Mr. MacMullen and the Poole Grant Committee for all their help.

Without this unique grant, I could never describe this adventure nor express such fascination with a country I can now call my second home. Through this grant, Taft

students are upholding Mr. Poole’s passion for adventure, and honoring his dream to preserve the natural beauty of the world’s lands and people.

Leah Barad ’03

Kristie Giannetto ’03

Costa Rica was beautiful, but it’s not the splendor of the environment or the adventures that made the trip special. It was the people.

Living with a family for two weeks opened my eyes to a new culture and connected me to the country in a way that walking through the forest or rafting a river never could. It amazes me how in such a short amount of time I found myself so attached to the members of this town even with my limited ability to communicate.

We worked at a preservation called Fudebiol—about a thousand acres—where we spent our time painting, varnishing, and sanding the various structures in which the preserve’s biologists live and work as they study the area.

Fudebiol’s other function is to protect the water sources for the nearby town where we stayed, not a small feat given the amount of contaminants in the area. I can only hope that one day, I’ll be able to visit my host community once again and I thank Taft for offering me a Poole Grant and for giving me the opportunity to experience Costa Rica.

This past summer, I lived on Columbia University’s Biosphere 2 campus in Oracle, Arizona. Biosphere 2 was built in the late ’80s by a private donor to run an experiment to see if running a completely closed system was possible. This was important and still is because it can tell us if living on other planets is possible in the future and it can also tell us how Biosphere 1, known as Earth, functions. While on the Biosphere 2 campus, I spent my time in class under the direction of Dr. Nick Yensen, a worldrenowned scientist who studies and produces halophytes, and Dr. Linda Leigh, one of the original Biospherians.

Class hours were spent studying and building smaller closed systems in which we eventually spent as many as 12 hours at a stretch, while monitoring oxygen, carbon dioxide, humidity, and temperature levels. I also spent a number of hours inside the Biosphere 2 facility studying the climate of the Lower Savannah and the Upper Thorn Scrub under a graduate student named Kristi Argenbright.

Through my student life organizers, I was able to go to Mt. Lemon, the Pima Air and Space Museum, the Sonoran Desert Museum, and the Grand Canyon.

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THE POOLE FELLOWSHIP

Wilson Hack ’03 I chose Chile for my Poole Grant because I knew nothing about the country and wanted to learn more about it, but also because I wanted to visit a Spanish-speaking South American country. The northern part of Chile through which I was lucky enough to travel proved to be breathtaking. Hot during the day, icy at night, the desert and mountain areas of San Pedro de Atacama were my favorites. I was fortunate enough to see huge salt flats that were home to flocks of flamingos, the Andes mountain range, a desert that stretched for miles, and the world’s largest open pit copper mine, plus I even caved a bit.

Aside from all the traveling I was able to do, the numerous volunteer projects my group participated in during my month in Chile made my Poole Grant worthwhile.

Our group worked throughout our home stay in La Serena with a foundation called Hogar de Cristo. Not unlike Habitat for Humanity, Hogar differs from Habitat in that it houses elderly people, usually in one location, where volunteer workers provide the necessary attention and care.

Hogar de Cristo was the equivalent of a walled-in retirement home. Poor male residents from the city resided within its walls.

Most of the Chileans who lived there (about 20) were restricted to beds due to illness; others spent the day on a bench in the courtyard under the shade of trees watching the white stray cats that slunk around. During the long hours we spent at Hogar de Cristo, we focused on cleaning and restoring a plot of land set back from the main part of the home. For the residents that were active, this land represented a place to pursue interests and activities such as gardening, carpentry, and arts and crafts. A small shed held the art rooms, small low-ceilinged spaces with wooden boards and paintbrushes strewn in every corner. By the time we were done, both the land and the small shed had been groomed and tidied.

When we first arrived, everything was overgrown; it was apparent that the place had received little or no upkeep over the

years, and was in desperate need of a facelift.

We set to work moving firewood into piles, digging and cultivating new gardens, raking, cleaning, and clearing. We hand-scraped and painted a shed inside and outside and carried loads of garbage to the dumpster.

The biggest project was replacing the fence around Hogar de Cristo.

There were times during our work, when I doubted what we were doing. I realized that the distinct image of neglect that resonated from the “before” Hogar de Cristo would inevitably return over time after we left. While the “after” scene was rejuvenated, vibrant, and clean, I realized that the elderly residents of Hogar de Cristo were not mobile enough to do the manual labor the land and shed required. But for the time being, we prided ourselves in the project we had completed and left feeling we had helped improve their surroundings. Part of our time there included not just working but eating meals and socializing as best we could with the residents.

We also enjoyed community service work at a school in Iquique. In contrast to the older residents of Hogar de Cristo, we worked with small schoolchildren eager to help with our projects and practice their English. The school housed and taught orphans who had no family to live and grow up with. But this did not dampen their spirits.

It was a shame to see the limited resources the school had. The entire building, which we painted inside, was about half the size of Taft’s lower dining hall: one main room, with kitchen and bathrooms extending off, and a concrete play area in back.

Not once while there did I see school supplies, desks, chairs, or paper. It’s possible that these were tucked away somewhere, but I thought back to my experience at Taft and how radically different these two worlds are. How often did I complain about my small single in Congdon House last year?

These children slept side by side, on squeaky metal cots, in a single room that defied privacy and personal space. But they were happy. They asked us “What is your name?” and then giggled because they had

spoken English—they asked if we had ever met Mickey Mouse.

It was hard to say goodbye to the children of Iquique. How different my own school experience is from that of the children there. I am fortunate enough to go to a school overflowing with resources, all to aid me in my quest for knowledge; willing and passionate teachers, technology, books and supplies, and peers who share the same drive as myself. I do not pretend to take for granted my Taft Experience, since, for me, Taft has been the opportunity of a lifetime, and as I look ahead to my college career.

Poole Grant Recipients Summer 2002 Leah Barad – Costa Rica Myrna Delgado – Puerto Rico Nick Fessenden – Costa Rica Kristie Giannetto – Arizona Wilson Hack – Chile Lela Ilyinsky – Ecuador Justin Krusko - Iceland Caitlin Keys – Turks and Caicos Brenna Leath – Fiji Angus Littlejohn – Costa Rica Cecily Longfield – Costa Rica Cathy Marigomen – Romania George McFadden – Dominican Republic Fiona McFarland – Peru Johanna Pistell – Honduras Neena Qasba – Chile Marisa Ryan – Belize Tucker Serenbetz – Peru Bettina Scott – Costa Rica Jane Spencer – Romania Rachel Steele – Thailand Tiana Todd – Puerto Rico Paul Webb – Gobi Desert Emily Wellington – Ecuador

Taft Bulletin Fall 2002

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TRAVELS THAT TRANSFORM

Justin Krusko ’03

Tucker Serenbetz ’03

I went to Iceland this summer for four weeks and spent a great deal of time in the area of Thingvelli where my group and I planted 1,100 trees. [See photo with tree-planting drill.]

The trees were only about a foot tall, but we hope that they will grow quickly and help reforest this section of Iceland.

What I enjoyed the most was meeting and experiencing local people and culture. We ate local dishes, worked with local teenagers, and even played a little soccer with local kids during some of the afternoons.

During some rare time away from our project, we were able to visit Gullfoss, which translates roughly to “golden falls.” It was a beautiful multilevel waterfall. Despite the day being wet and cloudy, the waterfall still consumed a full roll of my film.

We also planted trees for Gorthur Fyrir Folk in their program called Skil 21. Skil 21 took a more scientific approach to planting. We experimented with different types of fertilizer and recorded specifically which tree was planted where, and with what fertilizer, whether it was compost made from organic trash that GFF collects from over 11 companies in Reykjavik, or chemical fertilizer. We planted for GFF for four days, and for three of those four days it poured rain. The wind blew so hard that the rain would come down horizontally at times. Even so, the weather added as much to the experience as our accomplishments.

I know it sounds clichéd, but my Poole Grant experience in Peru was life changing. The group I worked with was Visions, based in Newport, Penn. We built a preschool for the public school district of Urubamba, near Cuzco. I made some great friends, helped a lot of Peruvian people, and, due to our hippie-type group leaders and the beautiful scenery, developed more of an appreciation for the crust that God put on our earth.

It is probably not the most impressive thing to say that my experience in Peru was as much self-serving as it was beneficial to others, but that is the truth.

Sure, the people we worked for were extremely appreciative of the preschool we built for them with our money and our labor, but I got so much out of this experience that it surprises even me. From meditative “Allyu” meetings, where I analyzed the type of person that I was, and was, in turn, analyzed by others, to actually using the information I gathered from those informational sessions to try and change, I felt real power to make myself a better person.

Also, giving back to the world by building a very basic resource for people who cannot afford it was extremely fulfilling. I learned a lot in Peru, and hope that the Poole Grant program will stay intact for many years to come so that it can help other Taft students grow intellectually and spiritually.

Jane Spencer ’03 and Cathy Marigomen ’03 Cathy and I went to Tutova, Romania, for three weeks where we worked in a hospital for underweight and special needs babies.

From 8:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. everyday, we took care of seven toddlers and 17 infants.

The main problem with the hospital is the lack of nurses: There are only a few for all the babies. The Romanian government doesn’t supply the hospital with enough funds, so only a limited number of nurses work there. As a result, many of the babies were unable to receive the attention they needed or any mental or emotional stimulation, for that matter.

At one year of age, when many children are walking, some of the babies in this hospital couldn’t even sit up. One girl, Ana Maria, came into the hospital because she weighed only two pounds, and her 30

Taft Bulletin Fall 2002

mother was unable to pay for food. The average monthly income of a Romanian is $50, making their annual income only $600.

Romania has recently emerged from revolution (their independence from communism occurred during the 1980s), so there are very few welfare laws that protect the people and the children. Throughout Romania, many kids are left on the street to beg, steal, and fend for themselves while they hope to bring money home for their families. This is something we don’t see in America very often.

By working with the babies for even half an hour a day, Cathy and I watched their abilities increase, and we were able to see that our efforts paid off. We grew so close to all of the kids that it was upsetting to leave.

I don’t think Cathy and I would have ever done this trip without Taft’s Poole Grant opportunity. When we first looked into this trip, we didn’t know anything about Romania. We barely even knew where it was.

But we’ve walked away from this experience with a better understanding of Romania, its people and its culture, and a better understanding of how they live. We know that we’ve made a difference and that feels good.

Director of Development The Taft School Founded in 1890, The Taft School is one of the nation’s leading co-educational boarding schools for students in grades nine through post-graduate. Living where they learn, academically talented students from all over the world are guided by an extraordinary faculty on a 220-acre campus in Western Connecticut. With the motto “Not to be served, but to serve” as a moral foundation, Taft graduates matriculate at our nation’s leading colleges and universities.

Taft is seeking an experienced and visionary development leader to join the School’s leadership team. The new Director of Development will report directly to Headmaster William R. MacMullen ’78 and work closely with the Board of Trustees. As the chief development officer for the School, the Director of Development is responsible for overseeing all fundraising programs which include major gifts and capital campaigns, annual giving, planned giving, alumni publications and affairs and special events.

The successful applicant will have at least a bachelor’s degree, at least seven years experience in fundraising and development leadership or related experience. Strong character, a demonstrated track record for fundraising management and leadership, knowledge of, and appreciation and enthusiasm for, independent secondary education and Taft School’s mission are all important qualifications.

Applicants must possess intelligence, energy and curiosity; the ability to supervise, motivate, and inspire colleagues; the ability to develop and maintain personal relationships, and strong oral and writing skills. Of particular interest is a candidate who is innovative and has a proven and demonstrated ability to develop strategy. Computer literacy is critical. This position will be open July 1, 2003.

Interested candidates should send the following: a cover letter that addresses qualifications and interest in the position, a current resume, a personal statement addressing the role of the Development Office in a private secondary school, and a list of references (no contact will be made without prior permission). Please send your information to: Mr. Steven B. Potter ’73 Chairman of the Search Committee The Development Office The Taft School 110 Woodbury Road Watertown, CT 06795 USA Taft Is An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

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On the morning of September 11, a special Morning Meeting was held to reflect upon the tragic events of one year ago. Those who spoke included Headmaster Willy MacMullen, dean of students Michael Maher, Sara Beasley, English teacher, and Michael Spencer, chaplain. Below are the words that Spencer, as final speaker, shared that morning with the audience of students, faculty, and staff.

Instruments of Peace The images of fire and death may have faded; the vulnerability may be less palpable. Yet, the fact is that some of us have changed, and even if you say you haven’t changed, the world has certainly changed around you. My task is to reflect on this day from a spiritual point of view. That is to say, What has this day meant for our understanding of God, our sense of connection to one another, and our ability to see ourselves as creative participants in a Creator’s creation?

I am a person of faith. I, like all of you—whether you’re Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Wicca, agnostic, or atheist—am a spiritual being enmeshed in this human experience. I am being called, moved, drawn, and led, closer to an eternal source. I’m a pilgrim and I’m on the way. September 11 is one day in my journey, a day of tragedy to which I am called to make a response because I am a member of the human community.

How do we respond? People are suffering, and most of the time the world waits. The world waits for big things to happen. We can’t change the big things, but in our own way, we can change the small things in our lives…and that makes all the difference.

How do we respond? For me, one response is found in the prayer of St. Francis:

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Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is sadness, joy. Where there is darkness, light.

Make us instruments of peace. Hijackers who take over planes in the name of religion and kill thousands of people, are not instruments of peace. Are laserguided bombs instruments of peace? Is the intrusion into an already war-torn country, the handiwork of an instrument of peace? Do instruments of peace include violence and bloodshed that simply repeat the evil done to us in the first place?

Is war preparation an instrument of peace? Some would say yes, sometimes I say yes. But most of the time, I am cautiously unsure. People are suffering. What is the world waiting for?

Where there is hatred, sow love. The hijackers who flew planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and into a Pennsylvania field were not sowing love.

Their action grew from hate. Did the Americans who killed Sikh merchants in California and the South because they wore turbans on their heads, sow love?

Did the people who vandalized mosques and attacked Muslim Americans across the country sow love? Bloodshed begets bloodshed. People are suffering. What is the world waiting for?

Where there is injury, sow pardon.

A friend of my family who worked for

Cantor Fitzgerald died when the towers collapsed. Can we expect his wife and children who have been psychologically injured beyond belief, to ever forgive, no less understand, why Daddy didn’t come home? Who can forgive the unforgivable? We cry vengeance and seek justice, and scream freedom in the face of fear. People are suffering. What is the world waiting for?

Where there is doubt, sow faith. Where there is despair, sow hope. Where there is sadness, sow joy. Despite a sense of vulnerability, and a new awareness of our connections to one another, we still harbor the seeds of doubt. Will I be Ok? Will I have to fight a war? Will my family be safe? But, human beings are spiritual beings, and if anything, the year in review has shown us many signs of hope.

Firefighters as heroes, plane passengers as courageous freedom fighters, the rebuilding of New York, 63 babies born to people who died on Sept. 11. Faith, hope, and joy-filled moments born phoenix like out of the ashes of tragedy. People are suffering. What is the world waiting for?

Where there is darkness, sow light. Crumbling towers and burning buildings are dark signs. But in a world of darkness, light still shines. And here at Taft, we are often bathed in light. Gurgling babies, sunny days, dopey dogs, a new year ahead, practices on the fields, awkward moments at the end of the scene, a new student being guided by an old student, Mr. Frew engagingly optimistic as he whistles across the back fields, Mrs. Maher sweetly smiling to comfort a shy lower-mid, Mr. Doyle quirky as ever with much less hair, head reflecting in the hallway, 217 new students, 352 returning students, 114 faculty, 145 staff—these are all rays of multicolored light. When we shine brightest and at our best, we sow love and pardon, faith and hope, joy and light. How do we respond? Respond in love.

We are what the world has been waiting for. This community—and others like it—is what the world has been waiting for. Remember. Respond in love. Make us instruments of peace.

PHOTO BY PETER FREW

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Taft Bulletin Fall 2002

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