The Archon, Spring 2022

Page 1

A M AGA Z I NE PUBLI S HED BY T H E GO VER N O R ’ S AC AD E M Y

SPRI NG 2 0 2 2

IN THIS ISSUE

Batchelder Family Basketball Legacy

50 Women of Govs Project

Award-winning Student Artists

NCAA Div I-Bound Student Athletes


Kim Burgess ’84 has supported The Governor’s Fund for 36 years. She is a dedicated alumna who credits Govs for providing her with a foundation of critical thinking during her high school years. “Govs opened my eyes to travel, sports, and culture that have enriched my life. I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank my parents, Tony and Nancy Grillo, for sacrificing so much to send me to Govs for four years,” says Burgess. These experiences, and the Academy’s financial aid program, are all supported in part by The Governor’s Fund. “Govs gave me the important life skills and academic preparation that set me on a successful path and that is the motivation for me to give back—so that others will have the same opportunities I had,” says Burgess. The Governor’s Fund directly supports nearly every aspect of the transformative experience that makes the Academy so remarkable.

It impacts everything we do. Every day.


Contents

PAGE 4

Message from the Head of School

2

50 Women of Govs Project Her Story in Her Words

4

Hoop Dreams: Batchelder Family Basketball Legacy

8

Going for the Climate Win: Caroline Ott ’02 Takes on the Ultimate Race Against Climate Change The Annex: A Brief History of the First Women Students at the Academy

PUBLISHER

12

Peter H. Quimby, Ph.D. ’85, P’14 Head of School EDITORS

16

Lindsay McPherson Batastini Director of Marketing & Communications

With True Courage, The Campaign for Governor’s 20

Ola Russell P’21,’23 Associate Director of Marketing & Communications

Back in Byfield

Caley S. Lynch Assistant Director of Communications

WINTER EVENTS

24

ACADEMICS, ARTS, ATHLETICS

26

CHAT: IBBY ELDREDGE ’22

36

DESIGN

Graphic Details, Inc. ACADEMY ARCHIVIST

Sharon Slater P’16,’20,’22

Alumni in Action

PHOTOGRAPHERS

WELCOME TO OUR NEW DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI & PARENT ENGAGEMENT

38

EVENTS

39

CLASS NOTES

40

In Memoriam

77

Faculty Profile: Bert McLain P’07,’09

81

Kindra Clineff Carly Gillis Jackson Hurd-Messom ’22 Darcy Kiefer Stephanie Norris Ellen Ohlenbusch P’23 David Oxton P’03,’08 Paul Rutherford William Tangorra DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT

Leslie Dickey DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI & PARENT ENGAGEMENT

Samantha Howson P’17 ABOUT THE COVER Art by Allen Wang ’22, who shares, “I enjoy the chance to have fun with different media, including photography, ceramics, film, and even theater. All the different art forms at Govs liberated my creativity and self-expression. This watercolor painting, Deep, was inspired by my appreciation for nature and the oceans, and to showcase the magnificent views of the underwater world and inspire viewers to protect our oceans.”

The Archon is published two times a year by The Governor’s Academy Letters are welcome from alumni, parents, and friends of the Academy.

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

1


TRUSTEES OF THE GOVERNOR’S ACADEMY James M. Pierce ’72, P’08, President James L. Rudolph ’68, P’05,’12, Vice President Elizabeth Tuthill Farrell ’84, P’14,’17,’18,’22, Secretary Steven G. Shapiro ’74, P’09, Treasurer William L. Alfond ’67 William H. Brine, III ’80, P’09,’14 Byung Soo Baik P’18 Frank Cousins P’20 Colin Cross ’74 Rob DeLena ’87, P’21, Alumni Council President Jonathan J. Doyle P’08,’09,’19 Milan Gary ’12, Alumna Trustee Phillip S. Gillespie P’22 Stephanie Ginsberg ’85, P’20 Lucy Armstrong Henkes ’87, P’21,’23 Stephen G. Kasnet ’62, P’95 Mitzi Lawlor P’19,’21 Karen Ruth McAlmon, MD, FAAP P’13 Thomas M. Mercer, Jr. ’61 Jen Migliore ’10, Alumna Trustee Paul Nardone ’86, P’19 Brian Patrican P’21 Molly Scharfe Prinn ’95, P’23,’25 Spencer L. Purinton ’75, P’13,’14,’20 Peter H. Quimby ’85, P’14, ex officio Archie Seale ’93

Alumni Council Rob DeLena ’87, P’21, President Laura Sullivan ’07, 1st Vice President Saundra Watson ’93, 2nd Vice President Jonathan Bird ’10 Naomi Fink ’99 Daria Grayer ’00 John Heald ’64 Jennifer Migloire ’10, Alumna Trustee Andy Ramirez ’98 Jason Rivera ’96 Pam Toner ’74 Alison Williams ’89 Jennifer Wong ’04 Scotch Wilson ’20, Collegiate Representative Abigail DeLena ’21, Collegiate Representative

Message from Head of School When I arrived at Govs in the fall of 1983, I thought of myself as a strong student, but I had never been truly challenged. That all changed one night that fall when I was working on an English paper for Mrs. Mulligan. I can remember it as if it were yesterday. I was sitting in my room in Ingham. It was late, I was tired, and Mr. Rybicki would be coming around soon to make sure our lights were out after study hall. I read over what I had written, and it was fine. I was sure that I could turn it in the next day and earn a grade that I would be satisfied with. But that was it. It was just fine. I was also sure that Mrs. Mulligan expected more from me. After reading my paper that night, I had a realization. I could do better than fine. I could turn this into a paper that was really good. And so I started revising. I do not remember how late I stayed up or what grade I earned on the paper, but I can remember how rewarding it felt to be working hard, making progress, and producing a paper that I would be proud of. I suspect that the reason I remember that night so clearly is that it was the first time I realized the satisfaction I could gain by working hard for something and finding success. And while it is the earliest memory I have of a teacher encouraging me to push myself harder, take a risk, try something new, or believe in myself, it was by no means the only time it happened. As teachers, we never know when a passing conversation, word of encouragement, or firm guidance will impact one of our students in a profound way. These conversations have been happening on our campus every day for generations. In this issue of The Archon, you can get a sense of the variety of ways in which the lessons learned in Byfield have stayed with people throughout their lives. This is good work. It is important work. And sometimes, when we are not even aware of it, it is work that changes people’s lives. It is hard to imagine anything more satisfying than that. With True Courage,

Peter H. Quimby, Ph.D. ’85, P’14 Head of School


JOIN US FOR REUNION 2022!

Friday, June 10−Sunday, June 12 Celebrating the Academy’s graduating classes ending in 2 and 7. Plus special reunion clusters: 50th reunion: Classes of 1970, 1971, and 1972 25th reunion: Classes of 1995, 1996, and 1997

Scan the code below to register, see a full lineup of events, and see who’s coming.

Or, visit thegovernorsacademy.org/alumni/reunion

We are especially eager to welcome you and your classmates back to Byfield this June for a weekend filled with activities for alumni and families of all ages. Some events to look forward to: • The Governor’s Feast • The Bill ’67 and Peter ’71 Alfond Coastal Research Center groundbreaking celebration • Annual pie race • Saturday cookout and Class Dinners • Annual Meeting of the Alumni Council • Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony • Reunion Art and Literary Show • and much more! SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

3


50 WOMEN OF GOVS PROJECT HER STORY IN HER WORDS One could argue that fall 1971 marked the most meaningful change in the history of the Academy. The twenty-four girls who came to Byfield as day students that year ended the over two hundredyear tradition of Governor Dummer Academy as an all-boys institution (excluding a few brief swings at coeducation in the 1800s). They were pioneers who paved the way for the next fifty years of girls—Morse Flag winners, residence hall proctors, national award-winning artists, and threeseason varsity athletes. The 50 Women of Govs project shares the unique stories of Governor’s women—students, faculty, staff, and friends—and celebrates their courage and the challenges they faced, their hard work and the passions they discovered, their leadership, and the impact they had on the Govs community. The project showcases the diversity of thought, backgrounds, and experiences of women who have called Byfield home over the last five decades. Over the next fifteen months, we will share their stories in The Archon, on our website, on social media, and in spaces on campus. Sit back and enjoy this first installment of 50 Women of Govs stories.


NINA MCELROY ’76 think the attention I received was the same. All the relationships were as special. So I didn’t feel different.

PASSION

GOVS My gender was not a factor in my Governor’s experience. And when I say that, I mean that in the most positive sense, because I never felt different. I always felt like we were a small group of people, part of a whole. I think my access was the same. I

One of the things that was sparked at Governor’s and which I continue to feel strongly about is community service and mentoring. I definitely felt a strong sense of mentorship. I do a lot of that at Bank of America. I do a lot of career counseling. The concept of doing for others and mentoring young people is something that I felt and learned at Governor's and certainly continue.

CHALLENGE One of my biggest challenges was having very young children and working. We moved to New York City. I had a demanding job. It wasn’t

just something I could do and leave at three. It was difficult having no flexibility. I think that was my greatest challenge, figuring out, do I want to take time off ? Can I bridge this time to a period where I will feel the children will be less needy? The amount of flexibility afforded and the amount of respect for women and mothers who want to work has completely changed.

COMMUNITY My husband and I are involved with the Whitney Museum of American Art and several other art and educational institutions. I am also on the board of an organization called Worldwide Orphans. And I am involved in general with kids out of college. There’s always a resume on my desk.

ELEA KEMLER ’83 GOVS

CHALLENGE

The four years I spent at Governor’s were life changing. The investment of faculty in the students was huge for me. The Chaplain, Charlotte Dudley Cleghorn, fostered a very special community of students. Even though my beliefs are very different now, being part of that kind of spiritual community was profound. It gave me an example of how transformative that could be.

Growing up with financial struggles, being a scholarship kid at Governor’s was hard. It was like I had crossed a border into a different country that I knew nothing about. Overcoming that was the challenge of my young adulthood. Now I can say that everything I went through has helped make me who I am. I feel lucky and grateful for the life I have. My time at Governor’s helped shape me and gave me things I have carried with me.

PASSION I was very involved in the drama program at Governor’s. That has absolutely changed. I have gone from thinking I would live in New York City and be an actor, to happily serving as a small town minister. My passion now is about building a community where people can bring all of who they are, and learn compassion, how to be more generous, and more grateful.

COMMUNITY One of the things we’re always working on in the congregation I serve is to ask, who’s not here yet? And why? How do we become people who are able to welcome everyone who comes through the door? How do we become truly inclusive? It’s about doing internal work first and teaching our children to deeply

value themselves and others and to do good work in the world. I think that is one of the most important ways I can give back.


DOTTIE BRAGDON 1983−1999 GOVS

CHALLENGE

September 1983. On the second night at Brantwood after we had climbed Mt Monadnock, the adults were relaxing together when a group of seniors walked in. "Come play with us!" "No! We're too tired!" "OK! If you won't come to us, we will come to you!" Many seniors returned with cards and spoons, and, together again, we played into the night. I cherish this supportive way of living.

Our greatest challenge was striving to make Governor's a first-choice school. Top priorities were increasing the endowment, faculty salaries and housing, and improving facilities. We needed more women in leadership positions, increased student responsibility, and more boarding students. We embraced the Old Guard and did extensive traveling. With the support of the GDA community, many of these goals were achieved.

PASSION I "lived" in the ceramics studio where the doors were always open, and the room was filled with generous and talented potters. Due to a generous parting gift from the Trustees in 1999, I have a complete studio in Exeter, which keeps me connected to the pottery world. I am forever grateful.

COMMUNITY Saturday Night Open House. I have grand memories of burnt cookies, dripping hot fudge, loaded studentmade pizzas, scary haunted houses, train tracks meandering with the engineer conducting, and always

"Mansion House Rules" for bridge— hand signals got a pass and the open secret that participating was a reliable way to escape the earlier 10:30 p.m. departure hour.

NAOMI FINK ’99 life experiences that forged really strong bonds with people I’m still friends with to this day.

PASSION

GOVS I had a lot of fears around, how do I establish myself within this community as a person of color? I realized quickly that I did have a community at Govs. Despite coming from different geographies, having different socioeconomic backgrounds, it was shared

I definitely have a passion for media. Having studied sociology and being from Hollywood, I understood how easily influenced people could be by the media. I’ve tried to align my career to companies that use their influence for good. Now I help higher education institutions market degree programs. At the end of the day, I’m selling ads. But I’m able to connect a person being exposed to that ad, and then obtaining a degree, to the work I’m doing. I want to make sure I’m doing something that’s having a positive effect.

CHALLENGE I think it is hard trying to balance the need to support your family, and the

need to be fulfilled at work. I’ve been lucky so far to have jobs that allow me to do so. But the few times I’ve gone astray, I’ve become miserable pretty quickly.

COMMUNITY I donate to financial aid funds to help diversity and inclusion efforts on campus. There are experiences I had at Govs that I couldn’t afford. The support of others made it possible. I know for a fact there were faculty and alumni going out of their way to make sure students who needed support could have similar experiences to others. It always stood out to me that there were people looking out for us. It’s the notion of giving back in a way that can inspire a similar experience for a current student.


ABBY HARRIS SHAFFO ’08 so to get to be part of something like that was really special.

PASSION

GOVS Our junior year soccer team winning the semifinals for the New England championship was a high point because I was the goalie and the match ended in penalty kicks. We had the most amazing team and coaches. I didn’t grow up playing on every travel team,

Travel is one. Obviously everybody loves a great trip, but it’s beyond that. I really enjoy the fact that we move every two years and I get to know the community in a completely different place. Going from New Orleans to Hawaii, to San Diego, to Memphis, to Newport… those are very different places with different cultures. It’s a total pleasure to be able to experience each one’s flavor.

CHALLENGE My greatest challenge has been learning to be comfortable being uncomfortable. It’s something I learned as a Junior Surface Warfare Officer in the Navy. On my first day onboard my

first ship, the USS MICHAEL MURPHY (DDG 112), I was put in charge of a division of thirty sailors, most of whom were older than me and had significantly more Navy experience than me. I think my time at Govs helped me gain the confidence to thrive in moments like that one.

COMMUNITY In San Diego I served my Navy community during COVID when we weren’t allowed to go to any sort of non essential establishments. I offered an eight-week, free, Pilates mat class on Zoom. The largest number was eighty-something service members that attended, and I led them through an hour long mat flow. I enjoyed being able to provide a virtual space for my fellow service members to move and gather during a challenging time.

SIOBHAN MCDONOUGH ’13 GOVS My parents both said you can play whatever sports you want. It wasn’t until I was playing soccer professionally that I noticed the differences between the men’s side and the women’s side. Although I think women’s sports, especially soccer with the recent USWNT settlement, are headed towards greater equality. But I always felt Govs was supportive of female athletes. We had great coaching and they celebrated any accomplishment we had.

PASSION Soccer has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember, but I have found joy being able to transition and explore other passions. When at the University of Pittsburgh, my role as a captain highlighted how important it

is to invest in your teammates on and off the field. Those desires to support the ones around me translate into my role as a healthcare worker. I’m interacting with patients every day. If I can make things easier for them that makes me happy.

CHALLENGE My greatest challenge was when playing soccer professionally. In college, I felt a lot more grounded because I still had other outlets. When I transitioned to professional sports, all my worth became tied up in who I was on the field. I really struggled. Now I feel I’m in such a more comfortable space with who I am and my direction in life.

COMMUNITY I have my work community. I still carry a lot from when I was an athlete to who

I am in the work setting. And then my best group of girlfriends. We were all on the Governor’s varsity soccer team. And I just try and be a good daughter. My circle’s very small. I just try to make people happy and let them know that I care about them.


Batchelder Family L to R: Cecila ’25, Callie ’23, Catherine ’91 & Bill ’91, P’22,’23,’25, and Will ’22

HOOP DREAMS 8

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022


Batchelder Family Basketball Legacy Attending a Boston Celtics NBA playoff game at TD Garden. Having March Madness playing on four televisions throughout the house to track college basketball brackets. Watching back-to-back Friday night girls and boys basketball games—Govs versus Exeter. It may sound like a day in the life of a sports broadcaster, but for the Batchelders, it’s a family thing. “Basketball has always been a part of our family life—watching games on TV or going to games,” says Catherine (Cat) Tuthill Batchelder ’91, P’22,’23,’25. “Our kids have been playing basketball since they could dribble.” Bill Batchelder ’91, P’22,’23,’25, and Cat are parents to Will ’22, Callie ’23, and Cecelia (Cece) ’25. Among them, they have acquired quite a few miles sprinting up and down the basketball court in the Alumni Gym at Govs. “When I joined the basketball team, it wasn’t very strong, but I loved wearing the Govs uniform, and my teammates made it special,” Cat recalls. “We were always the underdogs, but we kept working hard and looking toward the next game to see how we could improve.”

“We didn’t get much of a chance to watch each other’s games because we were usually playing at the same time,” Bill adds. “But if a game ended early, we would hustle over to the other field.” Cat went on to play lacrosse at Georgetown University and graduated as the school’s alltime leading scorer (her record has since been broken). Bill played football and baseball at the University of New Hampshire and was drafted by the Oakland As, where he played minor league baseball for three years.

When Bill arrived at Govs in 1987, the boys basketball program was at the top of its game. “Making the team at Govs was a big deal because they had some big-time players and a winning tradition,” Bill says. “We knew that we would be in the mix for an ISL [Independent School League] or New England championship, so whatever it took, we were willing to put in the hard work.” It wasn’t an automatic win every game, but that didn’t matter. “Coach [Steve] Metz never backed off against a challenge; he would put us up against the best,” Bill says. “There were times when we lost by 40 points, but everybody still wanted to play.” Cat and Bill met in their first year at Govs during Leadership Weekend (now Unity Days). Both were three-season athletes. Cat played point guard in girls basketball, midfield in soccer, and center in lacrosse. Bill was a utility player on the boys basketball team, quarterback for the football team, and catcher for the baseball team.

Cece Batchelder ’25 weaving past Tabor player

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

9


LEFT: Will Batchelder ’22 making a quick basket cut to score against Groton; RIGHT: Bill Batchelder ’91, P’22,’23,’25 in a home court scrimmage in 1991

Mike Moonves P’82 recalls coaching Bill in baseball at Govs. “Billy saved us in baseball when we had no catcher. When I asked the assembled tryouts if anyone had caught before, Billy, a freshman, raised his hand. The rest is history, as he was a mainstay behind the plate. Billy is clearly one of the best all-around athletes in Academy history. He was a great competitor who married a great competitor.”

Slam Dunk Legacy Bill and Cat married in 2000 and eventually settled down in Newburyport, just a few minutes from Govs. Athletics and their alma mater remained central in their lives. “When I was younger, I went to a bunch of football games at Govs with my mom and dad, and we would toss the football around together at the Sager Bowl,” says Cece, who joined her sister Callie on the varsity basketball team this season. “Playing on the same team as Cece is great because we have that instant chemistry of a best friend and a teammate all in one,” Callie says. “Milton [Academy] was her first big game; she had a few fast breaks, and the student section was cheering for her. It’s cool to see her so excited to be out there on the court.” Will recently finished his Govs basketball career with a trip to the New England tournament and next up, he’s committed to play at Holy Cross. “The competition has always been a big part of it for me,” he says. “A highlight was beating Brooks

10

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022

School on their home court in overtime this season; it hadn’t happened in more than ten years. It’s cool sharing moments like these with my parents.” The thrill of the competition runs in the family. “Bill was one of the fiercest competitors I have ever coached,” says Metz, who also coached Bill in baseball. “But what also stands out is how much fun Bill always seemed to be having in every

“The family is competitive and committed,” Ceglarski says. “But the nice thing is, they are all pretty modest about their ability. They don’t talk about how good they are; they just show it on the field.” practice and game in all three sports. Watching Will play basketball brings back memories of Bill. Although they play different positions, they both exude a love of the game and a fierce competitive spirit.”


Another commonality among the Batchelder generations is the value of team camaraderie. “When I think of some of my top Govs sports moments, they include getting together for team breakfasts, getting ready in my friends’ dorm rooms before games, and bus rides,” Cat says. “That’s where a lot of the fun stuff happened.” “The relationships and the people I’ve met through sports make me want to keep playing,” says Callie, who has already been recruited to the Harvard women’s lacrosse team. “Every day after school, I get to go hang out with my teammates not only on the field or the court, but off of it.” The latter is one of the reasons Cat and Bill are happy that their children are at Govs. “We wanted Will, Callie, and Cece to have a full high school experience—not just around sports,” Cat says. “They’ve been involved in student government, peer leadership, and other clubs on campus. That was important to us.” “I don’t know that there’s one specific thing I can point to when it comes to what makes the Govs community so

Cat Tuthill Batchelder ’91, P’22,’23,’25 back in her Govs basketball days

special,” Bill adds. “There’s just a dedication of the faculty to put students first; it’s a 24-7 commitment. They get to know our kids in some respects that are different from the way we know them.” History teacher Babe Ceglarski is a case in point. A thirty-twoyear veteran of the Govs faculty, he coached Bill in football. Will and Callie have taken his U.S. History class. “The family is competitive and committed,” Ceglarski says. “But the nice thing is, they are all pretty modest about their ability. They don’t talk about how good they are; they just show it on the field.” As a coach, his goal is simple but impactful. “For me, it’s never been about the wins and losses. I don’t measure my success by that. I measure my success by a student-athlete’s growth— gaining skills they can take with them,” adds Ceglarski. Cat agrees. “Our children have been lucky to have coaches who are dedicated to empowering them and helping them build confidence. In sports, those lessons matter over winning every day.”

Callie Batchelder '23 watching Rivers opponent's eyes for on-ball defense

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

11


Going for the Climate Win

THE ARCHIVES

12

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022


Caroline Ott ’02 takes on the ultimate race against climate change Caroline Ott ’02 knows about the importance of climate economics and what it will take to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. She also knows how to break it down to help others understand what a global climate finance program looks like on the ground. As a principal of the Climate Intelligence Program at RMI, a nonprofit organization working to accelerate the transition to clean energy around the world, Ott is spearheading their Carbon Markets and Offsets initiative. A top priority is helping low-income countries afford carbonreducing initiatives. Ott’s daily work centers mostly on meetings and building financial models, but her tenacity and passion for tackling big problems, love for the outdoors, and commitment to helping local communities make her particularly good at what she does. And as an elite trail runner, protecting beautiful places and resources from the substantial threats of climate change also drives her forward.

GOVS: Tell us about your expertise in climate finance and your role as Principal for RMI’s Climate Intelligence Program. OTT: I’ve focused my career on climate finance and carbon markets, which are two tools that can help us mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we need to cut global emissions in half by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2050. Today, the energy sector accounts for about seventy-five percent of global emissions. So, if we’re going to achieve these massive cuts in emissions, we need to quickly get our money out of an energy system built on fossil fuels and into one that uses low- or zero-carbon technologies like renewable energy; electric vehicles; low- or zero-carbon steel, cement, aluminum; and alternative fuels. This, in a nutshell, is what we mean when we talk about climate finance. I helped start our climate finance program, which aims to show that the finance challenge isn’t just about investing in new, clean technologies, but also getting our money out of fossil fuel assets

by investing in clean technologies and retiring emissions-intensive technologies. And also improving the efficiency of our resources. We take a “think, do, scale” approach, which means that we first focus on conducting research and analysis, then on piloting or demonstrating clean energy solutions, and finally on getting others to adopt and scale these solutions.

GOVS: What drew you to this work? OTT: I took my first natural resource economics class while studying abroad at the University of Cape Town and I remember being fascinated by this very real-world application of economic theory, especially while living (and running) in a place as beautiful as South Africa. From there, I went on to intern at an environmental consulting firm that was just starting to look into carbon markets under California’s capand-trade program. I did a bunch of research that summer on carbon markets, ended up writing my economic thesis on the topic, and then took a job out of college working as a carbon markets analyst. I’ve been working in the space ever since. It’s also worth mentioning that as a runner, and like so many people working on the climate crisis, I have a huge appreciation for the outdoors. I am motivated to do what I can to protect these special places and the people who rely on them.

GOVS: What do you see as the major roadblocks to averting the impending (and accelerating) ravages of climate change? OTT: Where to start! If I had to pick one roadblock, I would say that we don’t currently have the incentives required to shift to a clean energy economy. One of the simplest (but certainly not easiest) fixes would be to put a price on carbon; several countries and states around the world have done so, but we’re still far from having a global

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

13


price on carbon. And there remains entrenched political interest in the fossil fuel industry. For wealthier countries, a lot of the conversation is around reducing emissions from the stuff we’ve already built or already own. In the developing world, however, there’s much more focus on making sure that new buildings, new power systems, new modes of transport produce as few emissions as possible. We already have the technologies we need to cut global emissions in half over the next decade, and many of these technologies (particularly renewable energy) are already cost-competitive.

14

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022

GOVS: Are you optimistic about our ability to change quickly enough to mitigate the worst effects of climate change?

OTT: We’re already seeing devasting impacts of climate change. The increasing intensity and frequency of extreme weather events (flooding, droughts, wildfire, sea-level rise) have already caused more than twenty million people to permanently leave their homes over the past decade. And since greenhouse gas emissions cause warming over a period of decades (i.e., carbon dioxide emitted today will still be warming the planet decades from now), these extreme weather events are going to get worse before they get better.

That’s my pretty grim answer. However, I am incredibly optimistic about the technical capacity to avert the worst impacts of climate change, which scientists predict will occur once we exceed 1.5 degrees of warming above pre-industrial levels (for reference, we’re currently at about 1.1 degrees). We already have the technologies we need to slash emissions in the coming decade, and potentially, even get us to a state where we are removing more carbon from the atmosphere than we are emitting. The climate space has absolutely exploded in the past few years, and I am continuously amazed by the number and caliber of people devoting themselves to the climate crisis.


“I am incredibly optimistic about the technical capacity to avert the worst impacts of climate change”

GOVS: Thanks to a tip-off from your former teacher and cross country coach at Govs, David Abusamra P’93, Faculty Emeritus, we learned about your recent race achievements of the Tour du Mont Blanc (105 miles; nearly 40,000 feet of ascent, three countries, seven days, and thirty hours of total running), a 50K trail race, and the Moab Trail Marathon. Tell us about your passion for running and how you train for such challenging races.

OTT: I remember running a 5K with my dad the summer before my freshman year at Govs and telling him at mile 2.5 that I never wanted to run again. He told me that we could talk about it once I finished the race. I hobbled across the finish line, too tired and annoyed at

that point to have any sort of discussion about how much I hated the experience.

also engrained in me the value of being “well-rounded,” which has really

Fast forward a few weeks, and I was ecstatic to have (barely) made the varsity cross-country team at Govs. Fast forward four years and I would tell you that the cross-country team was my favorite part of high school. And fast forward another fifteen years or so, and I would tell you that I’ve become totally addicted to running over the years and I rarely skip a day of running.

pushed me to explore a wide diversity of passions, skills, and experiences.

Running gives me energy, helps me process what’s going on in my day, helps me get my bearings in a new place, and enables me to eat a whole lot! I also love the community around running— starting at Govs, many of my closest friends have been runners. I often think there’s something a little wrong with all of us, but that shared love for something so challenging creates a pretty amazing community. That, plus the rush of endorphins and the post-run beer.

GOVS: As a student at Govs, you excelled academically and in sports. Was there a person or experience during that time that has stayed with you or shaped your life in some way?

OTT: GDA was a special place, and I’ve reflected over the years on how incredibly lucky I was to have this high school experience. I was a bit intense as a child (my parents used to pay me to get bad grades in an attempt to loosen me up), but I became much more relaxed and balanced at Govs— largely due to the amazing support the school provided. I think that Govs

Running with David (Abu) Abusamra (a former teacher and coach at Govs) and the girls’ cross-country team will absolutely stay with me for the rest of my life. Two of my closest friends to this day are from the cross-country team, and Abu is still the first person I call or write to after a race. My life would not be the same without running, and I would not be a runner without the team and Abu.

Abusamra remembers Ott’s contributions to the classroom and the playing fields: “As a student, athlete, and leader, Caroline’s desire to improve, her consistency and conscientious approach, depth of understanding, and tenacity often stood out from that of her peers. As a tri-captain of her cross-country team, she trained hard even during the off-season in order to fully support her team, especially new members. She defined for them, on a daily basis, what it means to be a supremely hard worker—one who never gives up.” In an interview with a Boston Globe columnist who interviewed the girls cross-country team in Ott’s senior year, she was quoted as saying: “We run for the team, for the people, and for the challenge … it’s the most challenging thing I’ve ever done. The physical pain you feel makes you stronger mentally in all aspects of your life.” SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

15


Archives

Dummer Academy 1898–1899

THE ANNEX A brief history of the first women students at the Academy We owe a debt of gratitude to Imogene Robinson ’13, whose research during her time as a student at The Governor’s Academy, as well as further study while at Centre College, provided much of the information contained in this article. While the school celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the admission of women in 1971, Dummer Academy admitted women nearly 100 years earlier, for two brief and often forgotten periods. It all began in 1872, when the newly hired Headmaster Ebenezer Parsons welcomed a group of young women, in part to solve the sudden economic crisis that faced the school after a period of significant prosperity. The admission of these young women, however, was a figurative footnote in the school catalogue, whose only mention of the female students, in addition to their names being tagged on to the bottom of the list of male students, was this brief statement: “The school is now open to young

Headmaster Ebenezer Parsons

16

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022


Class of 1901

LEFT: Mrs. Sarah Parsons; RIGHT: Carrie Knight

ladies.” The catalogue also listed Sarah Parsons, wife of Ebenezer Parsons, as an instructor at the school. Her primary responsibility, not specified in the school catalogue, was educating the young female students, who made up about thirty-three percent of the student body. Numbers alone did not indicate the significant impact these young women had on the school. Despite their status as day students (and therefore less important) at a boarding school, these young women were disproportionately successful. Carrie Knight won one of two Moody Kent Medals, which were the only awards presented at graduation aside from the Sons of Dummer award. Other young women also received commendations during commencement exercises during Parsons’s administration. While this might lead us to believe that these young women were fully integrated into the school, we would be mistaken. When referencing the female scholars, publications referred to them as “residential scholars,”

meaning that they were residents of the local area, rather than students who came from more distant towns and boarded either in campus dormitories or with local families. Despite their success and the welcome they received from Ebenezer and Sarah Parsons, who seemed to fully support coeducation, some of the male students enjoyed playing pranks on their female classmates. One such trick involved a box of sleepy snakes placed near the fireplace in the classroom. When the snakes warmed up and began slithering out of their box around the room, the shouts from the surprised female students became the talk of the campus for years to come. Other female students were defended rather than teased by their male classmates. When Carrie Knight had to stand on tiptoe to write her math homework on the board, her instructor laughed at her. After noting that Knight was visibly upset, her male peers threatened to boycott class until the teacher apologized to Knight. After Parsons’s departure, the new Headmaster, John Wright Perkins,

wanted the school to return to first principles, meaning a return to its status as a traditional boys boarding school. The loss of the young women meant a a decrease of the student body by one third, without an accompanying decrease in expenses. It is no wonder that the archives are filled with literature produced during the era, promoting the merits of Dummer Academy as a “Home for Boys.” Philosophically, the Trustees gave their full support to Perkins, while at the same time struggling with the fiscal challenges facing the school.

“The school is now open to young ladies.” When coeducation returned in 1897 under Headmaster Perley Horne, little fanfare was made of the transition. During Horne’s first year, the catalogue announced that, “a few young ladies from the village come in to some of the recitations but are otherwise are not connected with the school.” The 1898 school catalogue made their presence


History Lesson

seem somewhat more integrated stating that, “Daughters of neighboring families are allowed to attend the Academy as day scholars.” Although permitted to attend, Byfield girls did not receive the tuition discount given to boys from Byfield, but instead paid full price. During this era, instead of male students threatening strikes to support female classmates, they celebrated them with the “Dummer Yell.” One of the occasions for this came on a night when the girls secretly dropped off a gift basket of treats at the boys’ dorm and ran away. The boys, followed by Headmaster Horne, took off in pursuit and gave them the Dummer Yell to thank them for their kind gift. Boys also gave girls the Dummer Yell after what the school newspaper, The Dummer News, referred to as “an evening of Annex entertainment.” (The girls were generally referred to as “the Annex,” to differentiate them from the rest of the Academy.) Unfortunately, we have no recordings of this yell, so we are left to our imaginations. Academically, the girls seem to have been integrated into student life, for the most part. When the school newspaper published some of the daily themes written by students, they published themes written by both boys and girls. The school

18

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022

debate club was coed, with most debates involving teams of one male and one female. The panel of judges likewise frequently included women, often alumna from the first round of coeducation, who remained involved in the school through an organization referred to as the “Daughters of Dummer.” (The alumnae educated under Perley Horne created a new association, “The Allies,” which later morphed into a parent group.) After graduation, several of these young women sat for the examination to enter Radcliffe College while their male counterparts sat for the Harvard examination. While there is some debate as to whether these young women were given official diplomas at the time (under Parsons they did receive diplomas), they undoubtedly had greater opportunities for postsecondary education than most of their female peers. By 1904, Perley Horne left Dummer Academy at the request of the board, and coeducation ended for almost seventy years, with the early experiment largely forgotten except by those who participated. While Carrie Knight (now Carrie Ambrose) continued to be a campus presence, her death marked the end of an era in the academy’s history of coeducation, not to be revived until 1971, when girls were finally admitted permanently.

Imogene Robinson graduated from The Governor’s Academy in 2013, only to return as an archival intern two years later to continue her groundbreaking historical research into the Academy’s early eras of coeducation as part of a grant awarded to her by Centre College’s Brown Fellowship program. On February 17, 2022, Imogene was invited back to Newbury to give a presentation on her research at The Museum of Old Newbury. Like many other venerable institutions, the Academy was a boys-only school for most of its long history. More than 200 years after its founding, and a few brief periods of educating women, the school finally embraced coeducation. Unpacking these two early periods of coeducation at the Academy reveals a remarkable history that speaks to the controversy surrounding the era’s burgeoning women’s rights movement. Scan to learn more:


English teacher Tom Woessner recently spoke to our community about his values and personal interests, motivations, and inspirations as part of our “What Matters to Me and Why” program. All Govs community members are invited to participate in this open forum. SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

19


WITH TRUE COURAGE

THE CAMPAIGN FOR GOVERNOR’S

CAMPAIGN UPDATE The With True Courage campaign has received support from all corners of the Governor's community, and we are grateful. Every gift is valued and collectively drives our key priorities forward. Together, we are putting our values into action and getting strength from our community like never before.

WHERE YOU GAVE

Campus Facilities

24%

Unrestricted

24%

$83M

Annual Fund

21%

Student Financial Aid

18%

Faculty & Academic Programs

13%

The Bass Challenge

$10 million matching gift challenge Bob ’67 and Anne Bass believe in creating transformative change with their philanthropy. The Bass Challenge matches $1 for every $2 of endowment and current-use leadership gifts of $50,000 or greater committed by December 31, 2023.* The Bass Challenge invites alumni, parents, and friends to invest in the future of the Academy. Learn more about our vision and priorities at thegovernorsacademy.org/wtccampaign * Payments on multi-year commitments must be received by December 31, 2025.

20

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022

48 donors have joined the Bass Challenge, with gifts ranging from $50,000 to $1,000,000.

20 months remain to make a Bass Challengeeligible gift.


E.E. Ford Foundation Grant Fueling Support for Innovation at Govs Educational Leadership Grant to Fund Key Staff for The Bass Institute Governor’s believes that students learn best when they conduct meaningful research to solve real world problems. That research is made even more relevant when students have a connection to the location—a collective investment in the place. In November 2021, the Edward E. Ford Foundation awarded a $25,000 matching Educational Leadership Grant, to the Academy to support the Bill ’67 and Peter ’71 Alfond Coastal Research Center and the Bass Institute. The matching grant was awarded on a 1:4 matching basis. Thanks to the generosity of our community—in gifts of all sizes—Governor’s is close to fully meeting the $1 million fundraising goal necessary to receive the grant, well ahead of the December 31, 2023 deadline. As part of the 6,800 sq. ft. Alfond Center, Governor’s will establish the Bass Institute to support a range of programmatic initiatives. The E.E. Ford Foundation grant will fund the full-time director and part-time science outreach coordinator positions. These leadership positions will initiate, guide, and support faculty members in developing innovative approaches to teaching that engage students in real-life science experiments. The partnerships with scientists, laboratories, research institutes, and nonprofit organizations will allow Governor’s faculty to offer an educational experience in the field of science that will be unrivaled at the secondary school level, and will also contribute meaningfully to the advancement of regional scientific research and investigation. Furthermore, the Alfond Center and Bass Institute will serve as a template for other academic areas, generating innovative intellectual experiences across the Governor’s curriculum. “It’s clear that the E.E. Ford Foundation was impressed by the work that we are already doing to engage our students and will do on an even greater scale in the near future,” said Head of School Dr. Peter H. Quimby ’85, P’14. “They share our belief that inviting our students to wrestle with messy data, and challenging them to take part in answering questions that solve real world problems, has tremendous value at the secondary school level, and they are excited to see what we can accomplish through this initiative.”

E. E. Ford Foundation Established in 1957 with a gift by IBM executive Edward E. Ford, the E.E. Ford Foundation “seeks to improve secondary education by supporting U.S. independent schools and encouraging promising practices.” The foundation makes three types of grants: Traditional Grants to support projects that grow a school’s own missions, Educational Leadership Grants to support schools in creating transformational programs, and Collaborative Innovation Grants to support projects that have the potential to influence secondary education more broadly and positively affect our democratic society. Visit eeford.org to learn more.

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

21


WITH TRUE COURAGE

THE CAMPAIGN FOR GOVERNOR’S

Academy Launches Milestone Society to Honor Leadership Lifetime Giving

The Milestone has been an iconic element of The Governor’s Academy landscape since 1708. This marker of distance has withstood the test of time, the elements, and centuries of students passing it by. The milestone represents permanence, resilience, and strength, and is a fitting title to bestow upon those who have supported the Academy with lifetime giving of $250,000 and higher.

The Academy is proud to honor those individuals and families whose generosity has profoundly impacted the Academy’s direction and progress throughout its history. Today, With True Courage, The Campaign for Governor’s further inspires generous support and presents an opportunity to formalize and celebrate those who have enriched the Academy—past and present. This generosity allows the Academy to accomplish its boldest goals and secure our mission for generations of students to come.

22

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022

Every gift of any amount is valued and greatly appreciated by the Academy. Participation among our alumni, family, and friends continues to be a foundation of unity for the school and a meaningful way for all to show their support. While Govs celebrates gifts at all levels, we have been especially fortunate to receive financial support from a core group of philanthropists who have placed the school among their top giving priorities. In recognition of these preeminent benefactors, this spring, the Academy will launch the Milestone Society, the school’s first lifetime giving society that includes individuals, foundations, and families who make fully funded gifts of $250,000 or more to the Academy during their lifetimes.

Between 2017 and 2021, the number of donors to the Academy has increased by nearly 12%, and total commitments to Govs have grown from $3 million in 2014 to $11 million in 2021. “There is no better time to celebrate these exceptional alumni, parents, and friends,” said Head of School Dr. Peter H. Quimby ’85, P’14. “The Academy’s long history is steeped in philanthropy, beginning with William Dummer’s bequest, which founded the school in 1763. We are thrilled to formally welcome 108 Milestone Society members and acknowledge their significant lifetime contributions. Collectively, these individuals have committed more than $100 million to the Academy to date; their impact is extraordinary and defines who we are as an academic institution.”

“The Academy’s long history is steeped in philanthropy, beginning with William Dummer’s bequest, which founded the school in 1763...” The Academy will induct additional Milestone Society members as they reach the $250,000 threshold throughout each year, and their names will be included in the Academy’s Annual Report on Giving. New leadership donors will build on the foundation of their predecessors, setting the way for a bright and bold future for generations of Governor’s students.


Members of the Class of 1968 are joined by members of the Ogden family and other guests at the memorial bench dedication in early November 2021.

Class of 1968 Honors Memory of John Ogden P’76,’78, GP’15,’19 After beloved Governor’s teacher John Ogden P’76,’78, GP’15,’19 passed away in December 2020, a group from the Class of 1968 joined together to honor John’s legacy as a devoted educator. “JBO [ John B. Ogden] occupies a special place in the hearts and minds of the Class of ’68, so we wished to honor that memory with a granite bench to be placed on campus, outside the Frost Library with an appropriate engraving,” said Mark Tucker ’68, P’01,’05, one of the organizers behind the memorial gift. In addition to dedicating the bench, the group contributed a generous gift to the John and Dorothy Ogden Endowed Scholarship Fund, which the family established during John’s lifetime. John’s teaching career spanned thirty-five years, ten of them here in Byfield. Many members of the Class of ’68 remained in touch with John over the years and, as Tucker puts it, he “flattered us by agreeing to an honorary membership in the Class of ’68 and attended both our 40th and 50th Reunions.” The memorial bench and contribution to the scholarship fund are a touching tribute from members of the Class of ’68 to honor the memory, guidance, influence, and friendship

that John Ogden provided to his students throughout his distinguished career as an educator.

We are pleased to acknowledge donors from the Class of 1968 who have chosen to honor John Ogden’s memory and his legacy at the Academy with this special gift: Peter M. Barkin Steven B. Cox William M. Degen Charles B. Johnson Harry J. Kangis Harold G. Levine Daniel C. Look Robert M. Lord David S. Mitchell Ted J. Nahil D. Christopher Page Robert W. Parsons

Ross N. Raymond E. Stephen Robinson P’14 James L. Rudolph P’05, ’12 James B. Shay Jr. John W. Sowles Carl F. Spang Jr. Marc K. Tucker P’01,’05 Arthur H. Veasey III Winsor D. White III Joseph W. Worthen II R. Danforth Ogg Jr. John W. Wannop Jr.

Please note: This honor roll of donors was considered complete as of January 31, 2022.

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

23


Back in Byfield

WINTER EVENTS Candlelight Service The Candlelight Service has been an annual tradition for more than fifty years. While the service has had many variations, its current form is a nondenominational celebration of faiths and traditions, works of literature read by students, and songs performed by our select chorus, The First. We were grateful to once again host this treasured holiday event in person in our beautiful Moseley Chapel.

24

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022


B A C K I N BY F I E L D

Winter Musical Heathers Working on Heathers, a darkly comedic rock musical, was different from many of our recent shows in an important way: The show is set in a high school, so the student actors were largely portraying characters their own age. The closeness in age creates a different type of connection between actor and character—even when the character’s personality is very different from the actor’s. That connection yielded an electric performance in which the actors sparkled. The crew took the sets and effects and ran with them. The musicians were locked in, forming a tight ensemble in collaboration with the singers. Govs actors handled both the dark and lighthearted content of Heathers with deft sensitivity and humor. The two nights of performances were an artistic triumph!

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

25


B A C K I N BY F I E L D

Academics Shakespeare, Performance, and Gender The English department has offered electives for juniors and seniors for the last three years. English faculty have created amazing courses that feature topics and texts they are passionate about, including Contemporary Science Fiction (Monica Kirschman), Asian American Literature (Tom Robertson P’16,’20,’24), The Memoir (Tom Woessner), and Performing Gender (Paul Wann P’94), to name a few. “I love Shakespeare, so that is always an inspiration. I am also enthralled with English history and especially the history of the theatre and its centuries-long conflict with Anglo-Puritanism,” shared Wann. This semester, his class is reading two of Shakespeare’s plays: As You Like It and Twelfth Night. Both plays feature female characters who dress or act male. Wann added, “To make vivid these early times and to highlight the evolving laws and practices of gender on the stage, we will watch two films: Shakespeare in Love and Stage Beauty.” Wann, a teacher and actor, “has been keenly aware of the notion that gender is a performative act.” The plays that he chose for his elective highlight the confusion, the comedy, and the complexity of gender. In Shakespeare’s time, women were forbidden to perform on stage, so these productions would have featured a boy actor playing a female playing a male. His class includes a combination of reading, reciting, roleplaying, and conversation. The opportunity for students to see and discuss how different directors, actors, and actresses in a variety of stage and screen productions interpret gender is exciting to Wann. He adds, “I hope that as we become familiar with binary gender as performance, we will be able to extend our awareness toward the non-binary.”

26

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022


B A C K I N BY F I E L D

Govs Students Win 70 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Governor’s students continue to do well in the annual Scholastic Art & Writing Awards competition, with thirty-seven students winning a total of seventy awards across art and writing disciplines. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is the longest-running, most prestigious recognition program for creative high school students in the United States. Work is judged on originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision. In the writing contest, nineteen students earned a total of thirty-three awards for their poetry, essays, stories, and scripts. In the art contest, nineteen students won thirty-seven awards for their photography, ceramics, paintings, and drawings. Especially impressive are the six awards that our students won for their portfolio work, which is considered the most advanced level of art in the competition!

Eliana Mlawski ’22 Gold Key: Ceramics Portfolio “Coral reefs are such important ecosystems, but they are under threat due to climate change,” says Eliana Mlawski ’22 of Weare, New Hampshire. “I thought it would be thought-provoking to represent my interests in environmental science and art through sculpture.”

Mlawski is a self-described “experimental artist.” Last year she began combining the ceramics techniques of wheel throwing and hand-building. She enjoys working with clay because it is three dimenional. Mlawksi says, “You can really interact with it in a space and as the viewer.” She throws large pots on the wheel and uses a stacking method to create asymmetrical forms inspired by marine life. This year, she is taking AP Ceramics and will complete a portfolio of fifteen pieces, including the six in Beneath the Surface, which won a Scholastic Gold Key Award and Top Art Portfolio Award. Reflecting on her experience with ceramics at Govs, Mlawski said, “Ms. Fliegel has taught me a lot about handbuilding and throwing on the wheel. I have so many opportunities to learn different skills from her because she is both a practicing artist and a teacher.” Mlawski holds many leadership positions on campus, including dorm proctor, community facilitator, senior class secretary, and 4A (Asian & Asian American Association) affinity group leader. In college, she plans to major in political science and use her Spanish language skills while traveling abroad.

Will Moriarty ’22 Silver Key: Photography Portfolio An unknown, masked figure slowly invades an everyday suburban citizen’s life as he does ordinary things. With each subsequent photograph, the masked figure becomes more apparent, yet it is not until the last photograph that the citizen knows his life is being threatened.

“Horror films are cinematic masterpieces. The amount of time they spend on lighting; it’s so dark, yet it is perfectly lit,” said Will Moriarty ’22 of Andover, Massachusetts. His Scholastic Silver Key Award-winning portfolio, Everyday Horrors, was inspired by his love of horror films and Gregory Crewdson, an American photographer who uses dramatic lighting in his photography. Moriarty plays both figures in his photographs. He kept his camera in the same position when he shot both figures so that he could Photoshop the images. He says, “Photographs straight out of the camera can sometimes be boring. I love the editing process of photography and really wanted the opportunity to challenge myself with this project.” Growing up, Moriarty viewed photography as just a hobby and always saw himself as an athlete first. “From the moment I set foot on campus, I felt encouraged to discover different sides of myself. I saw that there were lots of resources available to me. I took Photo 1 sophomore year with Mr. Oxton. It was so much fun. I felt really supported by the campus community to be both an artist and an athlete.” Moriarty will compete in his fourth and final season on the varsity baseball team this spring.

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

27


B A C K I N BY F I E L D

Arts Winter concert More than ninety Govs students collaborated as musicians and technicians to put on the Winter Concert. This was the first fully live performance for the four large ensembles—Academy Orchestra, Jazz Band, Academy Singers, and The First, as well as our student-run a cappella group—since December of 2019! Music included pieces by Thad Jones, Van Morrison, Elton John, Victor Young , Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Eric Whitacre, among others. Faculty leading this performance included Currie Joya Huntington, Director of Choral Music; Gabby Tober, Director of Instrumental Music; Radmila Repczynski P’25, Collaborative Pianist; and Joe Repczynski P’25, Director of Technical Theater.

Don Xing ’24 recently won a coveted National Silver Key in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for this painting titled The Duke

28

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022


B A C K I N BY F I E L D

Winter Dance Show: Breaking Through Stunning choreography and costumes were matched by emotional intensity and grace as Govs dance students interpreted a thought-provoking range of musical pieces by various composers, including Phillip Glass, Parov Stellar, Christina Aguilera, and Ezinma. The dance program at Govs has done impressive work throughout the last two years. They have shared beautifully produced videos shot in the Black Box and around campus. Nothing can quite compare to live performance, though, and witnessing these students, return to the Bergmann Theater stage was a delight—like a veil being lifted. Technical direction was by Joe Repczynski P’25, and artistic direction was by Erin Staffiere, Director of Dance; Pam Smith, Assistant Director of Dance; and Fontaine Dollas Dubus P’11, ’13, ’15, and Julie Pike, choreographers and instructors.

Outdoor Photo Exhibit Students of photography teacher David Oxton P’03,’08 showcased their work in a surprising display unit installed on the patio between Schumann and Peirce. This industrial-looking piece invites the question posed by arts and English faculty member Paul Wann P’94: Is it a photo gallery, or a sculpture? The vinyl prints show some of the artists’ photographs and portions of their statements; scanning a QR code on the print brings the viewer to a complete photo gallery for each artist. The purchase of the display unit and large vinyl prints were made possible by the Eliasen Family Gift Fund.

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

29


B A C K I N BY F I E L D

Athletics Division I National Letter of Intent Signing Maura Fiorenza ’22 Dartmouth College, Women’s Hockey “Maura is a student on the ice and in the classroom,” says Girls Varsity Hockey Head Coach and Athletic Director Claudia Asano Barcomb. “She is a talented player, an excellent student, and a driven young woman who will do anything in the best interest of her team.” This fall, Maura Fiorenza ’22, will head north to Dartmouth College to play on their women’s hockey team and likely major in neuroscience. From the blue line, her shot is powerful and her aggressiveness in the defensive zone has made Fiorenza an excellent defender for the Governors for the last four years. Her game has improved each season thanks to her commitment to strength training and skating in the offseason. Fiorenza is not only a star on the ice, she has accumulated twelve varsity letters in her time in Byfield, also playing soccer and softball. When she thinks about her time at Govs, her favorite moment was this year’s “Pink in the Rink,” where the girls and boys varsity hockey teams raised over $3,000 to donate to Dana Farber. The girls team went 2–0 that weekend with a decisive 4–1 win over Cushing Academy. “Hockey at Govs has been an amazing experience. My captains and coaches were amazing role models when I was an underclassman. I have had the best teammates, many of whom have become my closest friends,” says Fiorenza.

Ten Members of the Class of 2022 Sign NCAA Division I National Letters of Intent

30

Ben Baroni Portsmouth, NH Lacrosse, Villanova University

Jack Levine Yarmouth Port, MA

Will Batchelder Newburyport, MA Basketball, College of the Holy Cross

Celia Nocivelli Marshfield, MA Field Hockey, Boston University

Meg Cole Henniker, NH

Ian Olenik Windham, NH

Lacrosse, Colgate University

Lacrosse, Providence College

Maura Fiorenza Wilmington, MA Ice Hockey, Dartmouth College

Ciara Ryan Brentwood, NH Field Hockey, Merrimack College

Kelly Harty Billerica, MA

Lily Shannon Andover, MA

Ice Hockey, University of New Hampshire

Ice Hockey, Northeastern University

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022

Baseball, United States Naval Academy


B A C K I N BY F I E L D

Volleyball Competes in New England Tournament For the seventh time in Jamie Brandt’s eleven years as head coach, the volleyball team earned a berth in the New England (NEPSAC) Class B Tournament. The volleyball team (11–7) was led by seven seniors: outside hitter Mallika Chari, captain and setter Kelly Harty, middle blocker Amanda Hill, defensive specialist Lena Ho, outside hitter and captain Riley Lord, libero Claire Stone, and right side hitter Emily Storer. At its finest, the team utilized the combination of Claire Stone passing to Kelly Harty, who then set Riley Lord on the outside for the kill. Even with that impressive trio, the team’s season came to a close against top-seeded and undefeated BB&N in the quarterfinals on November 17.

Nia Pile ’22 Breaks Indoor Track Record Senior Nia Pile of Atlanta, Georgia broke the Academy’s indoor track record for shot put with a throw of 33’ 03”. She broke the record at a meet on December 11 at Phillips Andover Academy. Nia is a strong competitor in the 55-yard dash, the long jump, and the discus; she will captain the outdoor track and field team this spring.

Nia throwing discus during the the spring 2021 outdoor track and field season

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

31


B A C K I N BY F I E L D

Fall 2021 Athletics BOYS CROSS COUNTRY Record: 1–16–0 Most Valuable Player: Bear Brooks ’23 Coaches Award: Aiden English ’22

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY 5th place, 2021 NEPSTA Division II Championships Record: 6–8–0 Most Valuable Player: Aleah Ghiasuddin ’22 Coaches Award: Olivia Crisafi ’22

FIELD HOCKEY Record: 7–9–2 Most Valuable Player: Kate Burgess ’23 Most Improved Player: Hanna Freund ’23

FOOTBALL Record: 5–3–0 Most Valuable Players: Tristan Aboud ’22 & Matt Shaw ’23 Coaches Award: Makonnen Suggs ’22

BOYS SOCCER Record: 0–17–0 Coaches Award: Nick Pangan ’22 Most Valuable Player: Kaleb McLain ’22 Navins Trophy: Cade Sachs ’22

GIRLS SOCCER Record: 2–11–3 Most Valuable Player: Lilly Shannon ’22 Coaches Award: Maura Fiorenza ’22

VOLLEYBALL Quarter-finalist, NEPSAC Championship Class B Record: 11–7–0 Most Valuable Player: Kelly Harty ’22 Coaches Award: Riley Lord ’22

32

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022


B A C K I N BY F I E L D

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

33


B A C K I N BY F I E L D

34

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022


B A C K I N BY F I E L D

Winter 2021–2022 Athletics BOYS ALPINE SKIING

BOYS HOCKEY

GIRLS INDOOR TRACK & FIELD

5th place, NEPSAC Class B Championship Coaches Award: Bradley Byrne ’23 Most Valuable Player: Nick Johnson ’22

Semi-finalist, NEPSAC Championship Small School Record: 13-12-4 Coaches Award: Bear Brooks ’23 Most Valuable Players: Max Lacroix ’23, Ian Olenik ’22

Boys and Girls Indoor Track & Field earned 14 medals at the USATF New England Championship Coaches Award: Aleah Ghiasuddin ’22, Ella Pike ’22 Most Valuable Player: Sophia Mikelinich ’24

GIRLS ALPINE SKIING 3rd place, NEPSAC Class B Championship Most Valuable Player: Seti Capelli ’23

BOYS BASKETBALL Quarter-finalist, NEPSAC Championship Class B Record: 12-10-0 Coaches Award: Ryan Rudnick ’22 Most Valuable Player: Will Batchelder ’22

GIRLS BASKETBALL Record: 5-13-0 Coaches Award: Emily Moore ’22 Most Valuable Player: Anique St. Laurent ’23

GIRLS HOCKEY Semi-finalist, NEPSAC Championship Large School Record: 15-8-2 Coaches Award: Maura Fiorenza ’22 Most Valuable Players: Kelly Harty ’22, Lily Shannon ’22

BOYS INDOOR TRACK & FIELD

WRESTLING Second, NEISWA Tournament Small School Record: 11-8-0 Heb Evans Coaches Award: Sammy Kniker ’25 Most Valuable Player: Christian DiBlasi ’22

Boys and Girls Indoor Track & Field earned 14 medals at the USATF New England Championship Coaches Award: Danny Cammarota ’22 Most Valuable Player: Tre Williams ’22

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

35


B A C K I N BY F I E L D

A Chat with Ibby Eldredge ’22 Senior Class President You are quite a ways from home. How did you learn about Govs?

What advice would you give to yourself as a new student?

I am quite a ways from home; I am from Lafayette, Louisiana. Boarding school is not well known at all in the South, so I found Govs on the internet! I was fascinated by the idea of boarding school and found Govs through a Google search. It took a lot of convincing to get my parents on board, but I knew Govs was the right place for me when I visited after applying.

I would tell my ninth-grade self to extend herself as much as possible. I did not get into nearly as many clubs, activities, and opportunities as I could have as an underclass student. Time at Govs is short, so take advantage of all of the opportunities Govs has to offer—whether it is joining a new club or putting 100% into every homework assignment. Putting your whole self into everything that you do and branching out into diverse activities will prove to be worth it in the end.

What will you miss about Govs when you graduate in the spring? I am already beginning to miss the people! There is something special about Byfield and the fact that people from across the world come to this small town for an education. The friendships that I have made here can never be replicated, and I will miss being a part of this community every day.

What is your favorite hangout spot on campus and why? My favorite hangout spot on campus is the dining hall! My friends and I love to sit in the dining hall before and after practices, or in between classes. Most people know that they can find me there—I love to be in there for long periods of time. The best part about the dining hall is that the whole community uses it, so every night the dinner table is filled with new faces. The conversations and laughs that my friends and I have had sitting at our corner table are memories that I will cherish forever.

36

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022

Can you describe a faculty member or coach who you look up to? A faculty member that I look up to is Ms. Struck. Over the course of my years at Govs, I have never considered myself to be an artist, but Ms. Struck encouraged me to leave my comfort zone and opened my eyes to a world of art that I never knew about. She is an incredible artist and role model—I am so grateful for her!

What do you think you want to study in college? I am currently planning on studying philosophy in college! Of course, this is subject to change, but I will definitely pursue a degree in the humanities and think philosophy is right for me!

What activities/programs/sports are you involved with at Govs? I am involved in a relatively diverse range of activities at Govs, from the debate team and student council to sustainability and bee club. One of the

most impactful programs that I have been lucky enough to be a part of here is proctorship. Becoming a proctor in my ninth-grade dorm has been such an amazing experience—and it feels so weird to be back in the dorm where it all started. My time spent in the dorm as a ninth-grader and my relationship with my proctor was so incredible, and becoming that figure for my own hallway of girls has been amazing!

What was a favorite class of yours at Govs? My favorite class at Govs is definitely Forensics and Public Speaking with Mr. Wann! Mr. Wann taught me so much about rhetoric and made me fall in love with public speaking. Before Govs, I was terribly shy and a poor public speaker. Now, I deeply enjoy public speaking and studying the science behind it—a part of myself I never knew about until I came here.

What was a moment of courage you had during your time at Govs? A huge moment of courage for me was running for class president in my ninth-grade year. Being completely new in the first month as a ninth-grader, I thought running for office was a huge risk. However, my proctor convinced me to do it, and I am so glad that I did. My job as the class president pushed me out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to be confident and outgoing. Being a student leader is now a huge part of my identity here at Govs, and has been pivotal in my learning experience here. Running for office and putting myself out there has proven to pay off time and time again, whether I win or not.


“Putting your whole self into everything that you do and branching out into diverse activities will be worth it in the end.” — Ibby Eldredge ’22

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

37


Alumni in Action WELCOME, SAMANTHA HOWSON I am so excited to be the new Director of Alumni & Parent Engagement. When I started my career at then-Governor Dummer Academy, I planned to be in Byfield for one year. The Governor’s community, though, has a way of taking hold of a person, and after a few short months, I knew that this place was my home. Twenty-five years later, this opportunity feels like the perfect progression in my Govs experience. I have always approached my job in the Admission Office with a focus on hospitality. We are welcoming prospective families into our home. The Cobb Room is our living room, with food, drinks, and friendly, welcoming faces. In my new role, I will have the same lens. But now, I look forward to welcoming family members back home, introducing them to other family members they haven’t met yet, and giving them lots of opportunities to hug and see old friends. Over the past few years, we have needed to be creative in admission to share the Govs experience with prospective families. My goal is to use that same innovative and clever thinking to connect the alumni and parent populations not just to Govs, but also to each other. In my roles as dorm parent, advisor, and coach, I see the special ways you come together as students and parents. These are exceptional bonds, and they come with unique stories. I want to think intentionally about all of these realms and aspects of life as a student to help build a stronger alumni network. A school is its people. Our community of alumni, faculty, staff, and parents, past and present, are deeply connected to Govs. I’m excited to hear from you! I’m certain that many of you have thoughts on how to engage friends and classmates with the Academy. I look forward to having those conversations—listening to you— and I can’t wait to share a laugh with you on campus very soon! Samantha Howson P’17 Director of Alumni & Parent Engagement showson@govsacademy.org

38

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022


ALUMNI IN ACTION

Events

Heb Evans Inducted in the Wrestling Hall of Fame

Heb Evans III

Legendary wrestling coach, caring mentor, and dedicated teacher G. Heberton “Heb” Evans III was inducted into the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2021 at Gillette Stadium on Nov 13, 2021. Eric Shepherd ’65, Michael Mulligan ’71, Greg Walman ’87, Craig Clark ’75, Chris Barker ’69, David Oliker ’66, Matt Hunt (mathematics teacher, varsity wrestling coach), and Head of School Dr. Peter H. Quimby, ’85, P’14 joined the event to honor Heb’s achievements. Heb passed away on February 12, 1985.

Asian Lunar New Year Celebration On January 29, alumni, their families, and Governor’s families from around the world joined Head of School Dr. Peter H. Quimby ’85, P’14 and Chinese language teacher and International Student Liaison Jade Qian P’13,’15, for a joyous Asian Lunar New Year celebration. It was a wonderful way to connect, celebrate, and welcome everyone to the Year of the Tiger.

Govs Giving Day 2022 Govs Alumni: Thank you for a fun and successful Govs Giving Day ’22! Together, we rallied to meet the challenge. 1,070 generous donors from our extended Govs community helped us raise $420,000 in 24 hours, surpassing our goal. Your gifts to The Governor’s Fund provide immediate support to our students, faculty, and staff and make Govs a deeply enriching educational experience every day.

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

39


Class Notes Meridith Miller ’78

40

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022


CLASS OF 1946

success at a crucial time in the history of the School.

Bill Silver billsilver@comcast.net

After 167 years and 44 headmasters, in 1929, like the rest of the nation, GDA was facing financial difficulties. Sixty-eight students attended the school in the spring of 1930, but only thirty were returning in the fall. Ted Eames, age 30, was teaching English at Deerfield Academy and was contemplating establishing a small private school in the Berkshires. James Duncan Phillips, a trustee at Governor Dummer Academy, called Frank Boyden, who at the time was viewed as the "Dean" of private school headmasters—if you needed a new headmaster you sought Frank Boyden’s recommendations. Phillips spoke with Boyden about possible candidates to fill the open position of headmaster of GDA in Byfield. Mr. Boyden recommended Mr. Eames, and Ted Eames became our headmaster in 1930. At the same time, Mr. Boyden, while headmaster of Deerfield, accepted a position on the GDA Board of Trustees. Soon thereafter, Claude Fuess, the headmaster of Phillips Andover, also became a GDA Trustee. Boyden and Fuess were instrumental in helping Ted Eames build GDA enrollment in the 1930s by referring applicants to their schools to GDA, for whom GDA as a smaller school would be a better fit. Peter Quimby has anecdotally told me that a long ago member of his family who was a GDA alum was a Frank Boyden applicant referral for whom Frank felt Deerfield was not the right fit.

Bill Silver shares: Just to let you know that my wife, Marcia and I are still here—and kicking! Our newest one-year old great grandchild #4 came all the way from California to visit but when Marcia and I came down with COVID 19 he had to turn around before we even got to see him for the first time. Fortunately, we are all recovered and hope to celebrate our 70th wedding anniversary this year. Still playing tennis and working at the Miami Medical Examiner Department. The weather in Miami is so lovely, I think that I will stick around for a while to enjoy it!

CLASS OF 1951 George McGregor classnotes@govsacademy.org You may recall in last Fall’s alumni class notes, we expressed our gratitude to the Dummer family for their gift which created Governor Dummer Academy and how it came about. This Spring we will tell the story of three individuals who came together and ensured the Academy’s

Ted Eames immediately made some needed changes at the school. Of interest to all of us, upon his arrival in the early 1930s, those changes included Ted’s hiring new members for the faculty, who included Arthur Sager, MacDonald Murphy, Tom Mercer and Edgar Dunning. As we know,

ABOVE: Caleb Silver Moran, great grandchild of Bill Silver ’46; RIGHT: Bill Friend ’55 with friends and

family at Cardinal & White Day

all of these individuals remained loyal to Mr. Eames and the Academy for many, many years. This longevity of dedicated service also applied to Frank Boyden and Claude Fuess who remained as trustees into the early 1960s. Ted Eames retired in 1959 after 29 years, the longest period of leadership in the history of the Academy. Another person to be recognized is Jack Ragle. Without his book on the history of the School these notes would not have been possible. As Claude Fuess wrote in his foreword, "this book will be accepted as authoritative in its field and an important addition to the history of secondary education." As the depression subsided, World War II soon followed, but the year of 1951 when we graduated, the Academy was thriving as it is today. It has been more than ninety years since Ted Eames’s GDA story began. All alumni, faculty, students, trustees, groundskeepers, cooks and staff and anyone’s input that contributed to the betterment of the Academy allowing it to prosper can be proud of their accomplishments.

CLASS OF 1955 George Gardner george.gardner3@gmail.com Phil Angell writes that he and Rosie are continuing sheltering in place from the pandemic on Longboat Key. Rick and Claudette Sears also live on Longboat Key and they occasionally exchange emails. Peter Scott writes that for 22 years he and Anne went to Saint Simons Island for the month of March. He decided that he would like to do this again for old time's sake. He hopes that he can meet with Jack and Pat Pallotta. Bill Friend sent me the following note: “Dear Class of ’55, I hope this note finds you all well after trying to fight off Coronavirus and its variants wow, it’s been almost two years! Fortunately for the Friend family we have stayed healthy and strong despite some challenges. Sadly, the year of 2020 was a tough year for us. My wife Judy, after a courageous battle with Parkinson’s Disease with Dementia died on March 19, 2020. To me Judy was the most beautiful lady in many ways. A wonderful, kind and generous person who was my wife for

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

41


almost 59 years. Judy was the happiest when she was surrounded by our family of four children and eight grandchildren. And when the nest became empty she volunteered at The Massachusetts General Hospital where she also served as a trustee from 1994–2006. She adored her work on the board for the hospital as well as being a trustee of the Vincent Memorial Hospital, now the Women’s health division of the MGH. Truly I miss her every day. Soon after on May 14, 2020, our son Willy (class of ’82) had a successful double lung transplant operation at U Penn Hospital. After six months of living in Philadelphia surrounded by a team of excellent doctors and a schedule of strenuous rehab, Will and his wife Mare were able to return to their lovely home in Hamilton. He is doing remarkably well and now enjoys long walks, runs, bike rides and rowing on his rowing machine. Always with loving support from his wife Mare—God bless! Last on the list, yours truly had a collapsed mitral valve which landed me in the MGH for a month in June 2020. Thankfully the doctors performed a three-clip procedure that saved my life. I am recovering slowly but surely and using a cane to help with my balance. Now that brings you up to date with the Friend family and health issues. Very happily last Fall, I had the pleasure of attending the homecoming football game between GDA and Brooks (WE WON!). Attached is a photo which can also be found on the inside back cover of the Fall issue of The Archon. I, with the glasses, and one of my best friends of 70 years, Nat Gorton to my left and seated. Nat is the grandfather of three students now attending Govs—two of whom play football. I have the happiest of memories from my two years at GDA and am grateful to my parents and the strong support from the GDA faculty, Buster Navins, and Ben Stone. I was able to attend Hamilton College post Govs for four years and graduated in 1959. With respect and wishes for good health, Bill Friend”

CLASS OF 1957 Lyman Cousens lymancousens@comcast.net We are very sorry for the passing of Bill Hallenbeck. Bill was not only one of our Class’s outstanding athletes, he was a good

42

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022

student, an active participant in school activities, and, on top of it all, a good guy and good friend. RIP Bill. But hey, the rest of us are hanging in there, and here are a few examples…Back in December, the MOST Honored Artist of Dubuque, Iowa, our own John Bissell, held his Annual Art Exhibit featuring Dubuque Steamboat Hollow. After all the years holding this exhibit, 2021 led the field and John sold a record 20 lithographs. At our 65th Reunion this June, every attendee will have an opportunity to view John’s artwork he donated to the school last year. Gene Bouley reports he is recovering from shoulder surgery with his bride Kay providing nothing but loving care. Gene says his muscles are still aching from the demands of Heb Evans during the wrestling team’s undefeated season. Our esteemed Class President, one Peter Cadigan, is living in Eugene, Oregon, home of the Ducks. After his tenure at Hamilton, Pete enjoyed 20 years in the Army, ending up at Fort Lewis in Washington State, where he met his bride-to-be, Debbie. He worked at various jobs after the Service, including Development Officer for the University of Oregon (Ducks). Peter is in good health and spends at least two days a week fly fishing. Bob Hicks reports he is recovering from cardiac issues, but hopes to make an appearance at our 65th in June. Skip Dickerson and his family have all recovered from a nasty bout with COVID. Skip and Lynda are living in a retirement community in Duxbury, Mass. Bob Temple, aka “Temp” (Moody Kent Prize in Spanish, ’56) is living in Greenacres, Washington, after retiring from a distinguished career with HewlettPackard. June 10–12 will be the 65th Reunion for the infamous Class of 1957. Needless to say, but we are all running out of time, that’s the reality of our situation. I really hope you guys will make an effort to attend. Our Class Dinner will be Saturday evening and name tags will be provided, No more of this “Oh, you haven’t changed a bit!” We sure have! I hope we can show the other 64 classes we not only survived 1–4 years at GDA, we are still up to the task! Enjoy life and stay safe!!

CLASS OF 1958 classnotes@govsacademy.org Jim Main: With the current surge of the Omicron Variant here on the West Coast, the safest place to be is at home, so I’m staying safe and postponing all cruising for a while. I am enjoying catching up on my reading which includes Ken Weene’s ’58 Facebook notes.

CLASS OF 1959 Randy Light crlight23@gmail.com No doubt, most all are living in their COVID bunkers these days, but I did hear from the following classmates for this issue of The Archon [Pardon my later bracketed editorial inserts]: Ted Bliss: “My wife, Ginny, and I are fortunate to have two grandsons currently attending college not too long a drive from Essex, CT, where we reside. We recently visited grandson William, who is a sophomore at Marist College in Poughkeepsie. To walk the campus with him and get to know what his life is like there was very invigorating. Likewise, we have a grandson John, who is a sophomore at Thomas Aquinas College in Northfield, MA, and we enjoy visits with him. He is a sports enthusiast, which really challenges me with the trivia of various sports. Local organization meetings that I used to attend in person are now via Zoom. It is remarkable technology, but I miss the social interactions of in person meetings. Change is the ’name of the game.’ I think fondly of my years at GDA and am glad that through various means we get classmate updates.” Charlie Langmaid: “Patti and I are still trying to keep to the same old schedule around the lockdowns, i.e. Vail, Baja, So. Padre Island, and Hood River. So, not much for your class notes, but I always enjoy reading what the usual suspects are up to. I have fond memories of our last get together in HR, maybe it will happen again [so do I Charlie, beautiful country]. I hope all is well.” Bob Pouch: “We are in Florida now. Good to see GOVS at full speed ahead. We have spoken with Erna Nash [Roy Nash’s widow]


and are planning a visit soon. From a tennis accident, I have a shoulder fracture. [Ouch, Bob! A real bummer.] Going to doctor today. We have been staying close to home due to COVID. Hoping all classmates are doing well. Stay healthy, all!” Alan Stone: “I wish that I had some news that would interest the rest of our classmates, but we have been unconnected for too long. You have had a cadre of classmates who have written regularly; good on them. As to invitations to 441 Elm Street in South Dartmouth, yes, indeed, you are all welcome. This handsome federal house is, I suppose the indirect result of my three years in South Byfield with its thoroughly New England character, as my wife whose character and grace complements the place so well.” [Alan, despite your disclaimer, you have offered interesting news. I am sure that I express the appreciation of your classmates for your invitation to pay you a visit at your undoubtedly lovely home in South Dartmouth.]. Steve Volpone initiated a recent effort to reach out to classmates who have not been heard from for a while. Topper Terhune sadly responded: “Regarding classmates you have lost track of, I am sorry to have to report that Scott Cappel passed away in July of 2019. Scott was from Dayton and I got reacquainted with him when I moved here in 1967. We became pretty good friends and I also got to know a lot of his family here in Dayton. Lost touch with him when he moved away in the mid-1980s… got the the word [recently from a cousin of Scott’s] that he had passed away back in July of 2019. He was living in Franklin, North Carolina at the time.” [Also learned that Dave Latham had passed away last year.] Peter Sherin: “After quickly finding a 2-bedroom one block up Beacon Street from the condo I lived in 45 years, everything came to a screeching stop! COVID made contractor commitments unreliable, the building’s COVID defensiveness regarding the public coming into the building became an issue, and the shipping gridlock off California made renovation schedule and budget a moving target! Hopefully I will actually move in next month, a year later than expected. My personal transition seems matched by the political boiling pot on the country’s

stove. One thing seems certain, the cultural battle between personal freedom and the common good is well underway and will need all the competence, caring, and commitment that exists in the nation’s 25–37-year-old set to deal effectively with it! It took 300 years for humanity to struggle out of the Dark Ages and get to Enlightenment. With the ticking clock now audible, let’s hope humanity gets at least 5 decades to challenge the impact of climate change.” [The Gov's planned Bill ’67 and Peter ’71 Alfond Coastal Research Center and the Bass Institute jointly form a significant step on the part of the school, for which it must be given high credit, that will help educate its future students to meet the challenge that Peter mentions and hopefully to assist in slowing the ticking clock down to an inaudible decibel. In addition, I suspect that Peter and Phil Poe would want me to remind people of the school’s current financial campaign and the related Bass Challenge.] Ferg Jansen: “In general, if you forget about COVID (or going to the Ford’s Theater, Mrs. Lincoln) 2021 was a good year for the Jansens! Another granddaughter (in LA) and we think with 4 of each, we are blessed. Started in Spring with 3 others …since we could walk… Hingham buddies (Ray [Farris] would have been there) cleaning out a teardown house with a beautiful view of Hingham Harbor. The owner, some of you played against at Milton or Harvard. Navy Seal. Mild dementia. Able to make a deal so he will be cared for in good style. Great new ongoing client for me, and Linda had a banner year as well (yes, Fred…but it is fun!). Really hoping that the world just does what I want, and we can have an in person soon.” Ferg and Dane Woodberry are both residents of Simsbury, CT and may have the opportunity before long to get together for coffee or some other libation that we only thought about as students at GDA. Brian Marsh reported in, saying that he had nothing new to offer in the way of a class note. It was good, nonetheless, to hear from him across the pond. Walter Cannon writes: Thanks Randy, as always, for your efforts to keep us up to date with our GDA classmates. I am beginning to feel my age but am still active with various activities. I am in the process

of another airplane restoration. This one is a 1944 Piper J-3 Cub, the third one that I have done. They are popular for all ages of pilots since they were built in the 1940s. I am afraid that my days of flying in the national glider championships has ended. A new generation of young pilots who are very computer savvy have taken over the sport. Their very knowledgeable interpretation of the weather is impressive and they seem to be able to spend lots of money for the new and very complex German gliders. We are beginning to feel a bit more confident for traveling with the apparent reasonable control of the coronavirus. That means that we are planning to go to England to see our daughter and her five children that we have not seen for too long a time. So far all of our other kids and grandkids have avoided the ravages of the epidemic for which we are thankful. Hopefully all of our classmates are doing well in these difficult times. Until the next issue of The Archon, take care, stay healthy and with a little luck we can get the COVID variants behind us.

CLASS OF 1960 John Elwell johnelwell@verizon.net Don Alexander is so active…he is a model for all of us. Keep up the good work, Don, you are making a positive difference in our world! 2021 was a busy year for me, highlighted in October by an enjoyable 61st class reunion, hosted by John Elwell at his farm. Thank you, John! About 9 or 10 classmates attended, some remote but most in person, recalling our GDA days and exchanging updates on our lives since then. In other activity, my fourth book, this one about the history of the Maine Judiciary and the Maine Justice System over the 200 years since Maine separated from Massachusetts in 1820, published in November 2021. Through the summer and early fall, I chaired the Maine Apportionment Commission which, after engaged, amicable, bipartisan discussions, recommended, and the Maine Legislature approved, reapportionment of Maine’s 246 Congressional, House, Senate, and County Commissioner Districts. In other activity, I serve as a Maine member of the Uniform Law Commission, and on the

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

43


Maine Commission that oversees court appointed counsel for indigent individuals in criminal, child protective, and some guardianship cases. My wife Barbara is a member of our local Town Council and maintains a national consulting practice working with consumer groups promoting affordable energy and consumer protections and attempting to assure that low income and fixed income electricity rate payers do not pay an unfair share of the costs of actions to reduce climate change. My son’s family in Arundel, ME, and my daughter’s family in Bozeman, MT, are healthy and busy with growing grandkids. We are looking forward to a grand reunion in March 2022 in Florida of all three families to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary (which was actually in December 2021), my 80th birthday, three other birthdays, and anything else we can think of to celebrate. Your class correspondent work is much appreciated. Best wishes to you and your family and all of our classmates for a safe, healthy, and enjoyable 2022. Norm Kalat is a lucky man to have Marley… hope spring comes soon so he can get back to golf! Still here in Santa Fe. I still play golf, (spring–fall) but it is just for the exercise. Our Dog Marley gets me off the sofa 3 times per day, which is great. My wife Susan and I have cabin fever, as the most exciting excursion we do is marketing. Hoping that the kids and grandkids can make it this spring. Mal Flint and Surrey have been doing some traveling in spite of COVID…Good for them! Carol and I got some snowmobiling in this weekend up in Norway, Maine! The COVID craziness has kept Surrey and I close to home for a good bit of the last year, but we did manage to squeeze in some travel during the lulls in infections. Got to Mohegan Island and Bar Harbor in late June to celebrate our 55th anniversary. And in September, managed a trip to Peru to take in Machu Picchu for Surrey’s 80th birthday—it had been on our “bucket list” for several years and we decided we better do it now before the hiking and altitude became unmanageable. Just before the latest spike in Omicron, we spent Thanksgiving week with our son and his family in Akumal, Mexico. Once back from that trip, it’s been lockdown ever since.

44

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022

Hopefully, we’re now seeing some light at the end of the tunnel and can start getting our collective lives back to the new normal. Hope you and Carol are doing well, enjoy your weekend of snowmobiling! Arnie Wood has been enjoying Sarasota frequently. Hopefully the Finance seminars will be able to occur this coming November. In Sarasota. Been here a few weeks. Have been coming here for many years. Short stints—2 to 3 weeks about 4 separate times up to mid-April. Miss kids and friends. Occasionally play pathetic golf and chase Anne walking a few miles every day— despite the weather. COVID has stopped 15 plus years of the Behavioral Finance 4-day seminar every November at Harvard Kennedy School. I miss the business investment people around the world that have attended. Learned so much from their questions and insights. Occasionally stop by our alma mater. Wow! Real development of exploring the environment as a critical educational program. News from the Elwells is not too exciting. Carol and I both had COVID during the Christmas week, but it was more like a common cold. We are going on another Military Vehicle Preservation Association convoy this coming August. We will be doing the National Parks of the Northwest. Should be a fun adventure. Carol is enjoying spending lots of time with the grandchildren. I am still busy with the Farm and now have two schools, Heartwood Nature School and River Valley Charter School, which have classes there all week long. I also am involved in a group called ACES, Alliance of Climate and Environmental Stewards, which is actively addressing area environmental needs and challenges. Hope we can have a Class of ’60 get-together this spring. Be safe!

CLASS OF 1961 Tom Mercer tmercer5311@gmail.com Several years ago, a small group of members of the GDA class of 1961 originated the idea of an annual get together. The first such meeting was held at John Carroll’s place in Vermont. Subsequent meetings were held at Michael Stonebraker’s house on Lake

Winnipesaukee. The participating group has grown since the first meeting. The arrival of COVID temporarily relegated us to zoom rather than in-person meetings, but the silver lining of the dark pandemic cloud has been the frequency of the meetings—we now have a call on the second Tuesday of every month. The number of those participating on the call has increased so that there are now seventeen of us on the list. Of course, not everyone can participate in every meeting or every call, and some have made only one of our meetings or calls, but the list consists of Fred Bissell, Peter Boynton (host), John Carroll, Ted Dietz, Peter Eaton, Tony Garland, David Graff, Jim Hunt, Tom McDonald, Geoff Robinson, Dick Snowdon, Michael Stonebraker, Dave Stringer, Stan Thomas, Sam Wakeman, Tom Woodruff, and me. It has been a real pleasure and a privilege for me to be a part of this group.

CLASS OF 1962 Tom Tobey ttobey13@gmail.com Our most traveled GDA couple, Peter Butler and his wife, Marie, were not about to have their travel record interrupted by something like a pandemic. So, yes, they have resumed their travels! Their most recent trip took them to Egypt where they spent three weeks exploring the sites of ancient Egyptian tombs, pyramids and temples. After a brief rest at home in Marblehead, Massachusetts, they will head west to Utah in the spring to visit Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. Peter Buck and his wife, Lynda, retired from their professional careers and have moved to Purceville, Virginia where they bought a home near the Atlantic coast. They are pleased to be closer to the ocean, and Peter looks forward to improving his golf game in the new environs. Peter Machinist has recently undergone major back surgery and is recuperating in a rehabilitation center near his home in Auburndale, Massachusetts. His wife, Alice, visits with him daily and is looking forward to the day when he can come home. Before he is released from rehab, he must be able to walk on his own and climb the stairs in their home. We wish you all


the best, Peter, as you continue to work with your doctors and physical therapists to regain your mobility. Bob Snyder and his wife, Ellen, who have lived in Yarmouth, Maine for most of their adult life annually head to a warmer climate during Maine’s coldest months. Bob is now retired from the family business that kept him busy for his professional career. He and Ellen enjoy spending their leisure hours around the surf and sand on the Dutch side of the Caribbean island of Saint Maarten. John Davagian will soon retire from his law practice in Concord, Massachusetts. John and his wife, Joyce, will begin spending more time at their vacation home in the Sippewissett section of Falmouth along the eastern shore of Buzzard’s Bay. Best wishes on your pending retirement, John! The traditional reunion Pie Race was not held last year due to the pandemic, and there are some pent-up runners eager for its return in June. Among them are Bob MacLaughlin and his wife, Rene Collins, who have continued to roam the roads and trails in northern Maine. Rene completed the virtual version of the Boston Marathon in October, several days after Bob won his age group at the Maine Half-Marathon. He says it helps to be an advanced septuagenarian because he’s likely to win something just by being one of the few who still show up. We lost two members of our class within this past year. Following a respiratory illness, Charlie Pine died suddenly of a heart attack while at home in Norfolk, Massachusetts. Mark Johnson, who lived in Palm Desert, California, also died of a heart attack. He was on vacation with his wife, Patty, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. They owned a timeshare there and visited yearly, enjoying the beaches and other relaxation opportunities their timeshare offered. Patty told me recently that she felt honored that Jim Gordon, our fellow GDA classmate, came to the celebration of Mark’s life and shared a wonderful poem about Mark. We extend our deepest sympathies to both Charlie’s and Mark’s families as they continue to deal with the loss of these two exceptional and highly respected people.

As I continue to exercise on a stationary recumbent bicycle to regain mobility and strength following a stroke in January of last year, I welcome your notes and phone calls. Although I regret that my wife Karen and I will not make it to the GDA reunion this year, I am happy to report that I have a good excuse: we will be celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary at that time, and I think I have my priorities straight! That’s it for now. Keep in touch.

CLASS OF 1963 classnotes@govsacademy.org Cal Mackenzie is retired after 38 years on the faculty at Colby College. Before the interruption of the pandemic, he traveled widely, often to Viêt Nam where he was once a soldier and (much) later a Fulbright professor and investor in start-up businesses. His most recent book—a novel titled Saturdays at Liberetta—was written with Nguyên Phu’o’ng Thao, a Vietnamese entrepreneur, and is available from Amazon.

CLASS OF 1964

He definitely tried. The second item is to clear up possible confusion from the notes in the Fall issue of The Archon. No, I have not moved to the DC. area. I still reside in Melrose, Mass, a little over a mile from where I grew up. The notes that followed and broached the idea of class zoom meetings were from John O’Dea. We may have moved forward with remote meetings by the time you read this. A few classmates gathered for an outdoor lunch in Ipswich to talk about getting together more often that the traditional five-year reunions. This led to several events focused around October Cardinal and White weekend at GDA: a threesome of Phil Johnson, Paul Freedberg and Larry Henchey enjoying a round of golf at Rowley Country Club, attendance of Henchey, Freedberg and John Heald to watch Govs football defeat Brooks, and a class dinner hosted by Ralph Johnson on the “porch” in Newbury. The turnout for dinner was somewhat muted by COVID considerations but special thanks go to host Ralph for the venue, John Mercer and Florence for arranging the caterer, and Ralph’s nephew, Gus Lowell, and wife Lisa Taylor

Larry Henchy lhenchey@verizon.net Sitting down after a mid-winter excursion to Plum Island in search of snow owls (with one spectacular sighting), it’s time to shift gears with thoughts for the Spring Archon. I begin with a couple of housekeeping items. First, a hearty thanks to Don Balser who has relinquished his duties as Class Secretary after staying in touch with many classmates over the years. I think his major regret may be that he has not been able to talk with EVERY one of us more often.

LEFT: Cal Mackenzie ’63; RIGHT: Larry Henchey ’64 watching Govs football from the endzone

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

45


for their assistance with the event. Several classmates sent regrets but attendees had a very enjoyable evening swapping tales of family, travels and dealing with the pandemic. Phil Johnson was the longestdistance traveler, up from South Carolina. Paul Freedberg and Maria, Charlie Parker and Eli, John Heald and Pat, Larry Henchey and Jane were the more local celebrants. Again the common theme was “We’ve got to do this more often and see the people we haven’t seen in a long time.” In other news from classmates, Paul Freedberg writes: “I hope that you are all well and that the horizon is nearing when we will all be free from this COVID oppression. On a happier note, I just took my oldest grandchild born to my older daughter (nearly 5) to Ski Bradford for her 1st ski lesson and it was a huge success. And I am thrilled to report that we were in Brooklyn over the holidays to welcome the birth of my younger

daughter’s 1st child. So now I have 2 daughters and 3 granddaughters, proving that Y-chromosomes don’t stand a chance in my current and growing family.” From Peter Thomas: “Am in Ithaca doing some Mars work . . . Still working out history of the south polar ’residual cap’ of Mars, CO2 ice, sensitive to climate fluctuations. Interesting, but no Earth application. I keep up in other planetary stuff haphazardly, especially when COVID killed off in-person meetings. Big ones are still largely ’hybrid.’ More explorations have been history readings. Got Last King of America (Andrew Roberts) for Christmas. A good read on the British view of the American revolution and of the colonial view of George III.” Other classmates have been traveling to destinations foreign and domestic: California, Hawaii, Jackson Hole, Africa, Italy, Germany, etc. You just have to be at our next gatherings to know who, when and where! Speaking of next gathering(s), we may cobble together an early Spring, lastminute, non-New England offering that is still in the concept stage. Definitely on the calendar is Governor’s 2022 Reunion weekend (June 10–12) to join with Class of 1962 for their 60th and to celebrate the induction of the late Jay Cooke as an honorary member of the Governor’s Athletic Hall of Fame, for his extraordinary support of girls’ athletics at the Academy. Stay well and hope to see you soon.

CLASS OF 1966 Jim Connolly jim@connolly.legal Some exciting news, my daughter informed me that Andy Leonard’s Malibu restaurant, the Reel Inn, (where we had an excellent lunch), was mentioned in an episode of Veronica Mars. Life here, though is more prosaic. Winter has settled in, and I spend time gingerly walking my wife’s 85 pound dog through the ice and snow. Seeking some relief from the winter, Len Johnson writes: We hope to redeem our already paid vacation along the Gulf of Mexico at Anna Maria, Florida this spring. We have missed the swims in the Gulf these last two pandemic years. I have also missed my favorite dessert, worth a trip to Marina Jack’s at Sarasota: Macadamia Nut Ice Cream Pie. Tim Keeney reports: In November 2021, I was elected First Selectman (mayor) of my hometown Somers, CT, a full-time job in a Town that has no Town Manager. Challenging and stimulating job. Have five grandchildren with additions expected in Feb and June 2022. My wife Mary and I live in the house my great great grandfather purchased in 1875. Attached is a picture of Tim with youngest daughter Grace who graduated from Providence College in May 2022. Larry Hilliard writes that he is still working part time as a sportswriter covering Mississippi high school sports, benefiting from his time as sports editor of the Governor in his senior year. He sent along the attached photograph of him with his grandchildren Maddie Nichols, Davis

TOP: R-L Class of 1964 John Mercer, Charlie Parker,

Paul Freedberg, Larry Henchey, Phil Johnson, John Heald; BOTTOM: Paul Freedberg ’64, John Heald ’64, Eli the Golden, and John’s wife, Pat

46

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022

LEFT: Tim Keeney ’66 and his daughter, Grace; ABOVE: Larry Hilliard ’66 with his grandchildren


Nichols and Brecken Wood at Thanksgiving at his daughter’s house in Baton Rouge. Thanksgiving is his favorite holiday because his whole family gets together— five children, spouses and grandchildren. Davis was named for his wife Mary Helen, whose maiden name was Davis. Larry is looking forward to his 50th reunion at Washington and Lee in March which COVID has delayed by two years. Bob Indseth sent along the following note: My wife was digging up nostalgic items from her study because we just celebrated our 50th anniversary and among them were the two year books from my year and a half shortened tenure at GDA. So, I took a trip down memory lane remembering my time and exploits as a fellow student. We visited GDA more than a decade ago on a homecoming weekend and that was the last time I had given much thought to those times but I enjoyed my time there, appreciated the quality of the education and experience made available to me, and particularly value many of the relationships and times we had together. We are now old enough that every class update and reunion possibility is with a diminishing group and I deeply regret

missing one that included Charlie Estes before he departed and I am sure many others that I am not aware of, tallying up the number of classmates Jim’s email includes. I have enjoyed a very good life, several careers, and the same place and home for nearly five decades compared to my very itinerant early life and claim that I have survived it all including the military in spite of, not because of myself. I hope life has been as kind and rewarding to you all and that I may have the opportunity to greet and see some of you despite living in San Diego at the opposite end of the country.

Our website is www.whitebird.org. I’m attaching a photo that was taken a few years ago. The bird is Barney, our 33-year old Goffin’s cockatoo, who is the namesake of White Bird.

Wally Jaffe wrote that he wanted to join in his sadness of hearing about Malcolm Gourlie’s passing and added the following note: I’ve been living in Portland, Oregon with my partner and we are co-founders of White Bird, bringing contemporary dance companies to the city for 23 years from around the world. If you’re aware of Jacob’s Pillow in the Berkshires, that is what we do, but seasonally, from October–May each year. This current year we’ve had to shut down our live shows due the pandemic.

CLASS OF 1967

And, finally, John Whitmore writes that he is now retired. He says that this means he can now play golf with the guys, spend quality time aboard his boat Hopewell, hang out with his wife, and drive with his daughter across the country. He included a retirement photo, a photo at the golf course, and a photo of John at Wall Drug in South Dakota.

Ben Beach benhbeach@gmail.com “We should be doing things we enjoy at this stage in our lives,” said Gardner Sisk, who has transferred Gardner Mattress to his son and is beginning to transition to Florida residency. Gardner and Susan still own a townhouse on the North Shore for the five months they spend there. “The bedding industry has changed dramatically in the last six to eight years,” he wrote, “and it has benefitted Gardner Mattress. We are busier than ever.” Another business owner experiencing a rapid pace is Guidewire Technologies’ Doug Curtis. “Work has been keeping me busy,” Doug said, “and our youngest, Virginia, has joined the company as business development director. Lindsay ’97 is planning to return to the U.S. from

ABOVE: Wally Jaffe ’66 with his 33 year old Goffin’s cockatoo, Barney; RIGHT: John Whitmore

’66 on the golf course, celebrating his retirement, and hanging out at Wall Drug in S.D.

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

47


London sometime soon. If any of you enjoy reasonably priced wines, check out Wine of the Month Club. I received a gift membership for Christmas and have been very pleasantly surprised.” “The older I get, the more my memories of GDA run together,” Rick Jensen wrote. “I guess it’s just an age thing. The one memory that does not fade is of Harold Alfond, Bill’s father. To reconnect with Harold in south Florida was wonderful. We enjoyed great times on the golf course. I enjoyed being his ’measuring stick.’ Whenever a tour hopeful approached Harold for financial backing, Harold would arrange a friendly game with Harold, his friend Bob, and me, for the wannabe to showcase his ability. All he had to do was beat me, but Harold never told the guy that I was a club pro enjoying a day in the sun! Kind of like Bill Alfond whipping Chris Gurrey from Phillips Andover in ’67. Lots of fun! There is nothing publishable here except my fondness for Mr. Alfond, GDA, and Coach Witherspoon, who seeded my career in golf, and that was a truly unexpected road.” Larry Miller, who’s happy in Delray Beach, Florida, reported that his family is “branching out a bit. My younger brother has moved to Rhode Island, my nephew to Maine, my son Elliott to Virginia, and my niece to D.C. We hope to be ’on the road again’ soon.” Another classmate who now calls Florida home, Jay Marsh, wrote, “Tommie and I purchased a vacation rental property,

this time in Ellijay, Georgia. Wish we had purchased it in 2019/20 before prices exploded in 2021. Moreover, the property needs considerable work before it can be rented. The costs of labor and material, if available, have also exploded. Oh well, I may have to wait a while before retiring.” “I’m looking forward to putting the last two years in the rear view mirror,” Joe Story said in February. “It appears we are heading in the right direction. People are walking around Boston, traffic is getting congested, and ski areas and Disney World are getting busy. “NOW,” added the former Newbury selectman, “we need to work on reducing divisiveness and learn that compromise is important for society as a whole. That said, we need to look toward the sunrise and put the sunset over our shoulder.” Don Congdon has been enjoying a wide array of sports on his TV in Barrington, N.H. On Super Sunday he was rooting for the Rams and hoping to make it to our 55th. “Hi, classmates,” wrote Mac Barnes. “February is here and no trips are planned, again. We are liking our home, like it or not. Hope to see some of you for the 55th reunion. Jesus loves you, and I do too!” It may be warm now, but back in January Paul Hemmerich signed up for a ski tour in northern Vermont. “It’s -31 degrees outside!” he said when he woke up, but the group made it to Hazen Notch just north of the famed Bailey-Hazen Road of Revolutionary War fame. “To paraphrase Dr. Johnson, ‘The specter of frostbite concentrates the legs wondrously.’ These days it’s back to the saddle again to prepare for the Trans-NH bike ride. Bart and I are going to push this as long as we can, and, who knows, maybe someday grandkids will join us.” It’s a busy time for Joe Schwarzer’s maritime museums in North Carolina. The one in Hatteras has received money to finally complete the permanent exhibits, while the museum in Beaufort has received a planning grant to redesign a new museum complex.

Brothers Ray Bird ’62 and Sid ’67 with a 1966 Buick convertible that their parents used to drive around Reading

48

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022

Speaking of guys who survived those long winter morning walks from Ambrose, Mick Doolittle’s grandchild total reached four just after Christmas with the arrival of Delaney Mae Curry. Mick and Laurie drove down from Maryland to Charlotte

in January to give her their seal of approval. Unfortunately, his hopes of seeing the Buffalo Bills reach the Super Bowl were dashed. The success of Govs Giving Day on February 24 was, once again, due in part to the $100,000 participation challenge support provided by Bob Bass. “I like to encourage people to step up to the next donation category,” he explained. That contribution was on top of the $15 million gift from Bob and his wife Anne, the largest in school history. Some of the funding will create the Bass Institute, which will work in partnership with the Bill ’67 and Peter ’71 Alfond Coastal Research Center, a stateof-the-art, sustainable research facility that is going to be built on the banks of the Parker River. The Bass Institute will play a vital role in partnerships with other research institutes, nonprofits, and local municipalities to coordinate scientific research and share scientific data in the region. “My attendance at the Academy was a seminal experience,” Bob said. “I transferred from Andover, and the tools and experience I took from Govs gave me the confidence to reach for accomplishments in life. Oh, and by the way, Anne and I were an item back then.” “In May of 2021,” wrote Jeff Wood, “my role at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers switched from meetings director to director of procurement. (They had the option to put me out to pasture but chose not to. Instead, they gave me a parking space.) Notwithstanding the usual expected quips about the role of procurement, the job has proved somewhat interesting. It’s given me a new perspective on what goes on behind the scenes to enable an organization to function. Now I see all the late charges from those who don’t pay the bills on time—guillotine for them. So, less travel, fewer steaks on the road, and more sleep in my own bed. And still getting a paycheck. Not bad for having just turned 74.” “It’s been three years of being retired,” said Sid Bird, “and it just keeps getting better!” Last summer he picked up his daughter Laurie in his motorhome and drove from Tennessee to Maine, a throwback to a road trip they did in a VW bus in 1986, when Laurie was 16. Sid and his wife Mary qualified for the national Senior Games and


will be competing in Ft. Lauderdale in May. She’ll be in the 40k bicycle race, while Sid will be on the racquetball court. Dan Morgan reported: “With the advent of young grandchildren, a notable shift in Morgan family dynamics occurred this past holiday season as Mayo and I turned over the hosting of the holiday gatherings to our children. Daughter Mayo ’97 welcomed us to St. Louis for Thanksgiving, and son Robb ’02 gave us a great Christmas in Alameda, California. We are now the traveling grandparents. ‘Have Grandchildren—Will Travel.’” “I continue to work full time and enjoy it,” said Chuck Davis. “We are just finishing raising our ninth fund, Trident IX, which will be $8.5 billion. Our team at Stone Point continues to grow, and it is invigorating to work with such smart, nice people every day. I look forward to the reunion!” “Laura and I are in Cabo San Lucas this week,” Barry Davidson emailed in February, “while four members of the family back home have come down with COVID. Just bought a boatload of hydroxychloroquine to supplement the ivermectin already on hand. Laura has had COVID, and for some reason I never got any symptoms despite being right next to her for the duration of her illness.” Dr. Barry added: “I’m a believer in ‘herd immunity,’ something that all U.S. medical students (including Dr. Fauci) have been taught for more than 50 years. I don’t think there’s any getting around the virus. It’s here to stay. We just do the best we can and continue to live our lives.” Unlike Barry, Lew Rumford had to ditch his winter trip to Mexico. Due to COVID, he was unable to speak for two weeks. “While in isolation,” Lew wrote, “I had plenty of time to edit old family movies. And I continue to enjoy photographing birds. Otherwise, things in Florida have not been as active as I might’ve hoped. But I am not complaining, as I feel trendy and look forward to enjoying enhanced immunity for a while.” Let’s be grateful this didn’t happen to Lew when he was organizing mixers for us. Speaking of Maryland natives, “We are finally back to live classes at Claremont,” Alan Rothfeld reported, “but trying to talk to a class through an N95 mask is no fun.

Ruth and I are back on the road, having had three COVID shots plus the active disease (after the booster—very mild). We spent SantaCon week (a pub crawl with people in Santa suits and other Christmas get-up) in New York and then a week in Sedona, Arizona. We were going to try a trip from Boston to Montreal, but the border crossings are so complicated we are putting that off.” New Mexico’s Legislature has heard a lot this year from Edwin Beatty “about protecting voter rights and expanding access, stopping the storage of nuclear waste here, housing and services for the homeless. Like elsewhere across the country, the number of unhoused people here is growing exponentially.” In February Edwin worked on the annual Point in Time survey to count the homeless. “Unfortunately,” he said, “it coincided with the worst winter storm this year—snow and below-freezing temperatures that lasted for days. My friends and I were able to complete only a very limited number of surveys. It’s beyond heart-breaking to sit with a 32-year-old man, filling out a survey, learning that because he’s an occasional drug user, he’s excluded from what limited available shelter there is, and knowing he’s facing a night outside in snowy weather with temperatures in the low teens. It haunts me still.” Sizing things up in February, Anthony Gerard wrote, “Well, what a great world we live in: when the president of France goes to Russia to meet the president of Russia to discuss a peace plan when there’s no war. I think I’m living in the ‘Hunger Games,’ but I’m not sure what district I live in. If you want to know a little bit more about how we got into the situation, I recommend you take a look at ‘hyper normalization,’ which you can find on YouTube. Part of me wants to get as far away from this new world as possible, and another part of me wants to make a stand for what I think is important. I’m very grateful that you’re all in my life and very much in my memories because both constitute a solid contact with reality for me. Some of these other experiences don’t seem so real. Look forward to seeing everybody in June.” Cynthia and Bill Dougherty and his sister escaped Upstate New York for two weeks of winter, experimenting with the VRBO

(vacation rental by owner) experience in the Palm Beach area. During the second week, daughter Alyson and her family of five joined them. Over the holidays, Bill Alfond reported, “Joni and I were able to travel to Lisbon to join our daughter and family from France. I continue to hunker down in Boston, being active outdoors during this pandemic by walking and bike riding this winter as well as spending as much time as possible skiing at Sugarloaf. We very much look forward to a 50th wedding anniversary trip to Italy with our three children families, especially our seven grandchildren, in August.” Bill co-chairs the Board of Directors of the U.S. Olympic Biathlon Team but, for obvious reasons, did not travel to Beijing in February. “Winter has been cooler than usual in St. Augustine,” Reid Pugh remarked in February, “but it’s a good place to be: lots of music, bars, restaurants, art galleries, museums, history, architecture and, of course, ghosts (one of the most-haunted towns in America reportedly). I’m heading north soon to see my grandchildren in Virginia, then looking forward to a long visit in Massachusetts in June. See everybody then. Show up, people!” “I am hard at work researching for my Appreciation of Columbo Seminar at our 55th Reunion,” Stanley Greenberg reported. “Here’s a taste of his wit: ‘A rare old bird is the pelican. His bill holds more than his belly can. He can take in his beak enough food for a week and I’m damned if I know how the hell he can!’” Ray Huard spent the winter recovering from surgery for a baseball injury, but he found an activity perfect for a guy stuck on his back. His 2020 Christmas gift from family members came from an outfit named Storyworth. Each week Ray writes an answer to a Storyworth question (e.g., Who did you date in high school?). A year’s worth of those answers are put together to create what Ray calls “a sort of customized biography—a nice bound book of up to 400 pages at a reasonable fee.” Maybe he’ll do a reading at our reunion. David Marsh and wife Christie are spending more and more time in Arizona. He reported that his Tacoma “is tricked out with a low shell and ‘bed’ so he can 4WD

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

49


into the wilderness and oil paint in the early and late light, while packing heat to discourage mountain lions.” “Between POEMS, COVID and being at high risk,” Phil Congdon wrote from Greater Boulder, “I’ve been spending most of my time at home. Global warming does provide some warm days in the winter to get out for a walk but makes it too hot in the summer. I hope to get into the mountains this summer and see if I can find my sanity.” Our other Coloradoan, Scott Cameron, landed in “the most modern city in the world” (Singapore) on March 1. After a few weeks there, he flew to Koh Samui, Thailand: “an island paradise with a privately owned international airport for immediate departure to anywhere you want to go. I wanted to check it out as a possible permanent residence. Give the Govie guys my best!!” “I’m still getting some skiing in with the grandtykes, which is good for my heart in so many ways,” Jeff Harris wrote. “The 14-year-old needed an old picture of Grampa as a kid for a school project, so I sent the Colt 45 shot from our graduation picture book—I imagine it was censored. Trying to schedule a trip to Thailand to meet up with my new pal Scott Cameron, whom I finally met at Rem’s party in August. Now I have a face to go with the myth/legend. I have just watched the first episode of ‘The Beatles: Get Back,’ and it definitely shines a light on the Fab Four’s creative process and drags your memories back to the late 60s—good fun.” “My new hip is doing fine,” Roger Block reported from Stonington, Maine. “No pain, and I can put my shoes and socks on all by myself! We made up for two-plus years of no travel by spending March in London. I learned from Lew Rumford that his in-laws used to live in a house just down the road from us. He knows our new house well. Small world.” Discouraging news from Gene Romero in Raynham: The grass that he told us he had planted last spring eventually died, due to overwatering. “Kathy wants to plant 5,000 square feet of sunflowers instead,” he wrote. “And when the time comes, I’ll go canoeing.”

50

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022

Anne-Marie Laverty was gearing up for Christmas in Vienna. Then came a kidney stone and cancer. As of Valentine’s Day, she was part-way through chemotherapy but was hearing mostly upbeat assessments from her doctor. She swears she had nothing to do with the winter truck protests in Canada.

’68 attendees were, left to right: Steve Robinson, Marc Tucker, Chris Page, Jay Worthen, Art Veasey, Jim Rudolph and CF Spang. Bubba and Winsor White each sent a photo as they raised a glass to honor JBO from afar. Topping off a wonderful day, the varsity football team stomped Belmont Hill, another fitting tribute to JBO!

Carter Evans has been concentrating on exercise, and he’s planning to get back up to Kennebunkport this summer.

That same day, Heb Evans was inducted into the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. As Veas reminded us, “How fortunate were we to have so many good men as teachers and coaches.” Referring to a Newburyport News article that ran, Ted Brooks commented as well: “Amidst other accolades, possibly our most devoted coach. Good to get a closer view of his athletic contributions. Impressive individual. He was my dorm proctor senior year.” Rick Kaye-Scheiss: “Many strong memories of Heb (besides smoking Chesterfields during practice and chewing aspirin during matches). Great scouting reports, great teacher-coach, and a fine human being.” Winsor wrote: “My lasting memory of Heb comes from when he was my math/geometry teacher. I was always a lousy math student because at the time I had no interest in it at all. We cut a deal where he gave me a passing grade for the year of 60 on the condition that I never take another math class again if I could possibly avoid it. He said he wanted to ensure I never ‘inflicted’ (his word) myself

Carol and Ben Beach met on October 1, 1977 (on Beach Drive). So they created a tradition of doing something new the first of each month, and the count will reach 532 by the time of our reunion. Sometimes Ben can’t come up with the name of the guy across the street, but he can tell you all the firsts, in order.

CLASS OF 1968 Ted Nahil tednahil@gmail.com On November 13, 2021, our class memorial to JBO was finally dedicated by the front entrance to the Frost building. Ogden family member attendees were, left to right (facing page): Steve Ogden’s wife, Julie; Steve Ogden; Jeff Ogden ’76; Lee Ogden; and Lee’s wife, Lela in the back row; and Heather Ogden ’15, Lee and Lela’s daughter, JBO’s granddaughter. Class of


on another math teacher again. He didn’t want them to have to endure me in class like he had to. Delivered deadpan with that sly grin he had. We both honored our sides of the bargain. I never took another math class and he passed me. If memory serves he may have offered Jay Shay the same deal.” Jay seemed to confirm that with a simple “Hey now!” Veas wrote: “If you came to his math class unprepared and tried to bluff your way through you likely had a piece of chalk thrown in your direction—I fondly remember one such missile launched my way in the basement classroom of Peirce.” Harold Levine: “And I was allowed to decorate the Christmas Tree on Perkins II amongst all the floors’ residents. He was a great man with a few flaws like all of us.” And CF, after reading the story, reminded us: “Thanks for sending this article along. Good to know that Heb was also inducted into the lacrosse Hall of Fame. The Fundamentals of Lacrosse, his legacy, lives on!” As we approached Thanksgiving, Jon Williams wrote: “This year I am thankful for the bedrock principles we learned growing up in New England and from the great teachers we knew at GDA! Society could use a few more Vals, Hebs, and Busters! Happy Thanksgiving to all of you turkeys!” To echo Veas, we certainly were fortunate to have had both of these

men in our lives! Ross Raymond sent a wonderful note at the holiday: “Thanks as always for your vigilance in keeping us all connected and Happy Thanksgiving to all my classmates and their families. We just lost a very special individual from my 20 classmates of the Yale PA Program from which I graduated in ’78. For me, it was the most impactful life event of this nature since Rick ("Mouse") Hass passed a few years ago. I took several days off this Thanksgiving week and have had more time than usual to reflect on things. One notion that was predominant in my thinking was gratitude for the connections I do have with the many special people I have known in the last 50+ years. I do not contribute to many message threads that our ’68 class shares, many of which you initiate, but I read every one of them and gave thanks for it when my boys were here Thursday. They are in their early 30s and not optimistic about the state of our country or our planet. I don’t think they are unique in that sentiment. We had a conversation (one of many) in which I did my best do help them understand (believe?) that, at least in my experience, the people in their lives and what they share with them will be an increasingly significant factor in how they view and experience the world around them. I have been very fortunate in that regard starting in particular right around 1964…” It seems as though the fall was the time some of us really began to venture out. Dave Mitchell wrote: “We came to DC to be with one of the kids, her husband, and two

LEFT PAGE: Members of the Class of 1968 at the dedication of the JBO memorial bench; ABOVE: The Ogden Family at the dedication of the JBO memorial bench; RIGHT, TOP: Bubba ’68 and Winsor ’68 salute to JBO; RIGHT, BOTTOM: Ross Raymond ’68 train layout

of the grandchildren. Always great fun!” Paul Gares wrote: “On this Thanksgiving eve, it is heartwarming to think of all Red Dogs. It is certainly worth giving thanks for the friends we all became over 50 years ago and for how long that friendship has lasted. At this time, there are a number of our classmates who, as a friend has put it, have left the party, or who have drifted away. We remember all of them very fondly. Enjoy the day tomorrow all of you as you gather with family and give thanks for the world we live in and the freedoms we enjoy. Best wishes my friends, Paul (and Pam).” Holiday wishes also came from Bill Degen, Harold Levine, Elliot O’Reilly, Don Hayes, Roger Smith, Jon Williams, Tuck, Bubba, Veas, Harry Kangis, CF, Grande, Jon Schafer, Simon McCulloch, Dan Ogg (who included another work of art), and Charles Johnson, who asked me to distribute his email which I totally forgot to do. I apologize for that, Charles! Here are his holiday comments: “I still haven’t mastered creating a group so I’m depending on you to share this with my fellow Red Dogs. First of all I hope all of my Brothers and their loved ones had a great family event over Thanksgiving. Next, I want to wish one and all a very Merry Christmas season, however you celebrate it. I hope it brings peace to all. Lastly, having just received the newest Archon, I realized how much I’ve missed our gatherings in northeast MA. The lengthy drive is always worth it. Additionally, I have several new issues of bourbon to share.” Along with the previously mentioned group of gents, birthday wishes were shared by Chris Page and Josh Burns as we hit December and with it, Jay Worthen’s birthday. That day also brought the usual holiday gathering at the Sea Level in Newburyport. Veas wrote on December 8: “Most of the locals are gathering tonight at Sea Level in Newburyport for our annual (except for last year) Holiday dinner and charitable giving kitty where we each put in $50 and one name is drawn from the hat—and that person gets to designate his favorite worthy charity or non-profit to help those less fortunate. This was an idea of Steve Robinson about 5 or 6 years ago that is now a great ’68er tradition. In any event I will buy Jay his first Manhattan as a birthday present.” Jay wrote: “Thanks all for the well wishes. I was wined and dined (well, wined anyway) in Newburyport by

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

51


Art, C.F., Chris Page and Robbie. Good time, and another notch in the belt.” Two days later on the 10th is when one of several lines of severe storms came across the entire south- and midwest. Elliott wrote: “We just came up from the basement as a line of tornadoes went through the area. No problems other than having to move 12 Papillons down and back up. That should cover my cardio for the day. Going to be a quiet bachelor’s holiday as my wife is heading to Kenya with a colleague from the U. of Missouri-St. Louis in 4 days to do some instruction in Nairobi for 3 weeks. Oh well, I have the dogs to keep me company! Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!” The charitable donation Veas mentions above went to the Eagle-Tribune Santa Fund. The picture below came from the front page—the Boyz of ’68 mentioned prominently as you see! Veas also had a birthday in there and commented: “Thank you one and all—at age 72 it amazes me and gladdens my heart to think that 50 years later we still keep in touch whenever one of us celebrates a birthday.” Don Hayes wrote, “WOW, where does the time go? Wishing you a Happy Birthday was on my To-Do list. Done. Now I can go back to chasing a one year old boy before he tears up the whole house!” Unfortunately, as we approached Christmas, we learned that Tom Jacobs had passed away. A sampling of our thoughts follows. Steve Robinson: “One of my all-time favorites. I knew he’d been ill but I’ll miss not seeing him again.” Peter Barkin: “A real loss.” Ross Raymond: “Darn it...what a loss. Wonderful memories of his raucous laughter in sophomore year whenever we could get his roommate ‘Buddy boy’ riled up. Mouse (Rick Hass) was pretty good at getting things stirred up in those scenarios.” Jay: “Thanks, Ted, for letting us know. I will miss Tom, as I’m

sure we all will. I hope he keeps his head down and his arm straight.” CF: “Thanks, Ted, for sharing the news about Tom. Sorry to hear that he was in hospice for so long. An ordeal, no doubt, but I hope that he received good care and has finally found peace.” Veas: “I will always remember his infectious laugh and the mischievous glint in his eyes when I lived next door to him in EEU. Tuck and Jimsy—you were his lifelong friends right up until the end. Today your sadness is ours.” Harry K: “I’ll always remember those plaid pants he wore on the golf course …” After Tuck corrected him to say the pants were actually madras, Harry continued: “This is what happens to us in our 70s. I kept searching the memory banks for that description, and back then I even owned a pair of madras shorts. Nicklaus and Miller wore plaid golf pants, but Tom took that to the next level with madras.” Roger, Chris, Grande, Jon Williams, Bill Degen, Mitch, Winsor, and Harold, were also among those of us who were sad to hear the news. And Jim Rudolph wrote: “Sad day yesterday thinking about Tom, who was my roommate in Eames East Under (EEU) our senior year. Last night I looked at our 50th Reunion Memory Book. He was well enough then to send in the info for the attached pages. We talked about his coming to the Reunion, but he knew he was not well enough to do so. Tom had a great sense of humor as evidenced by his comments in the Reunion Book. He was

LEFT: Don Hayes ’68 and his grandson; ABOVE: Eagle Tribune headlines!; RIGHT: Rick Kaye-Scheiss ’68 boating with CF Spang ’68 and Rob Lord ’68 on Great Bay in NH

52

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022

never married and had no children. He really valued his GDA friendships, and he loved to play golf. When sailing in Maine, I usually stopped to see Tom in Rockland. I had the pleasure of playing golf with him many times at his home course, the Rockland Golf Club, in Rockland. Even as he lost his game, he was a competitor and there always had to be a bet, which somehow I usually lost!” Ned Bennet shared his thoughts as well: “Thanks for keeping us up to date Ted. Tom’s passing kind of opens a new season for us. The one where we move on. Tom, John Wannop, Bill Madden & I all lived in Osterville and went to the local schools together. He lived near the third hole of Wianno golf course & I near the 7th. 3 through 7 was a loop you could play mostly unobserved and I’m sure he did that as we all did. I’m glad those days followed him. It seems like yesterday.” As Christmas approached, Paul Gares wrote: “Greetings from snowy Nantucket and Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas. Hoping that 2022 brings everyone good


health and lots of laughs.” And Jon Schafer was in that area as well: “Merry Christmas from Cape Cod to all who have made it to another one!” Dan Ogg shared another work of art along with his holiday wishes. As the new year began, Chuck Johnson checked in from the west coast, shared a selfie (sort of) and wrote: “A very quiet holiday season in Sacramento. Hoping we have the wildfires and drought behind us but we are not out of the woods yet. I’m not great at selfies so crop to your heart’s content or don’t use the photo at all.” No cropping, Chuck, good to see your smilin’ face! Following my request for updates for this edition of The Archon, Rick Kaye-Scheiss sent an update on Boots Brown: “Thank you for keeping us Red Dogs connected. I heard from Boots who spends most of the year in San Miguel, Mexico (a beautiful Colonial town) where he has a home. He and his mate, Sharona, are building a new home high on a hill looking the town.

They returned to Durango during the pandemic.” Jon Williams: “I’m enjoying life in Colorado, as I pan my first ski day of the season. As my wife enjoys running Mary Williams Fine Arts too much to retire, and I get bored sitting around my house, I took a part time job helping a young mountain builder grow his business. This gives me a chance to keep my hand in home construction, which I always enjoy. My FloR Systems concrete operation is a welloiled machine, providing custom elevated concrete floors to finer homes in the Denver vicinity. This allows me some time to dedicate to this new venture. Of course, I am jumping back in at a time of serious supply chain issues. I spent 3 days buying 6 bathtubs as they are in short supply along with everything else on the planet. I await a return to living in a prosperous and productive America!” Veas wrote: “Ran into Steve Robinson this afternoon at Leary’s in Newburyport. Robbie is as youthful, spry and friendly as ever. So much fun to bump into classmates in this neck of the woods.” Ross wrote: “Still grateful to be working and healthy so far. Had a really nice 10-day Christmas break with major size tree (which tipped over at one point) and indulged my nostalgia setting up recently rediscovered O gauge Lionel trains. (Pic attached). Have decided when I have time (another 3 years?) I am going to convert my current office into a hobby room with a small but detailed (HO Gauge) layout

modeled after the Newburyport-Rockport line. Christmas Eve I enjoyed spoiling my boys with too many presents and stockings stuffed with tickets to local Eagles concert. At their insistence, we watched John Carpenter’s 1982 remake of The Thing (which we apparently watched 10 years ago according to them). I probably would have slept better after watching my first choice, The Santa Clause but hey, family time is family time. They were kind enough to give me a heads up when the truly horrific parts were coming. Have had a couple 3" snow falls here in NC which impedes my 10 mi bike ride for a couple days... but honestly wish I could have been back on the farm in Ipswich for the real New England blizzard (2 feet) they got this weekend.. Easy for me to be nostalgic about because it will be spring time here in about 6 weeks. Wishing good health and safe travels, if necessary, to all.” Jim Rudolph sent in a picture of CF, him, Bill Alfond ’67, and Chris Page at Loon Mountain. Roger Smith sent this update: “Appreciate your efforts Ted, Judy (wife) and I are enjoying the ‘long spring’ in SW FL across the peninsula from you. Still on the right side of the grass and generally enjoying it.” Dave Mitchell shared this: “Not that much new here, although our eldest granddaughter (25) got married in January in Estes Park, CO. Unfortunately, due to some health issues, we couldn’t go (all is getting better now). We did see it streamed on YouTube, so it was almost like being there, but not by a lot. She’s living in Greeley, CO and loving it. A great youth-time, youngmarried adventure. Oldest grandson (29) now has a full-time job after graduating last spring from George Washington’s Elliot School of International Relations. Next summer he starts a second masters at Johns Hopkins. Fifth oldest grandchild is graduating from Charleston College this

LEFT: Paintings by Dan Ogg ’68; ABOVE: Chuck Johnson ’68 selfie; RIGHT: CF Spang ’68, Jim

Rudolph ’68, Bill Alfond ’67, and Chris Page ’68 at Loon Mountain

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

53


May, and his younger sister, sixth and last grandchild, has been accepted there for the fall, which is where she really wanted to attend, so life is good. Some of you may remember that one of my younger brothers, Bill, attended GDA (OK, hard habit to break) for a year. His twin, Fred, who lives in Palo Alto, just bought a house in Charleston, so the good news is that we have a place to stay when we drive over! Was very impressed with Jay’s chessboard in the last issue. Working on a Goddard corner chair in the shop. Shouldn’t take more than about 2–3 years (still buying green bananas, BTW). Oldest child turns 60 this year—fancy that!” The one-yearold boy to whom Don Hayes refers above is Brexten, and Don sent a photo recently showing how hard he works at the babysitting! He wrote: “Thank you for your continued involvement in GDA. No need for real news when some of us are just carrying on—attached is a photo of an old fart providing day-care: a highly energetic and interactive process where both the client and staff need a periodic break. We’re looking forward to having local daycare centers open here soon. Staying alive in ABQ, LA, and in between…” Finally, Dan Look sent in a quick update with a reminder of what’s coming up in 2023: “Not a great deal of news to report. As, I am sure with probably everyone else, a relatively quiet rhythm. Plans for last summer got disrupted. We did have the entire family here for Christmas. With everybody fully vaccinated and boosted, we had 14 people sitting around the table for the holidays. A wonderful two weeks. Anne and I are hoping to get to France for a couple of weeks this summer to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. On the business front, our community for homeless veterans and assisted living for homeless in the District of Columbia at the old Walter Reed campus will be opening this spring. An amazing group of people who are grossly underserved. ‘Homeless veterans’ is a phrase that should not exist in this country. Planning to have Windshadow in the water by late May and some cruising this summer. I will keep the usual suspects alerted. The guestroom in Cary, North Carolina, remains available for ’68rs traveling through. As always, thank you Ted. Stay well. 55th next summer! Holy crap.”

54

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022

Terry and I continue to enjoy south Florida. We’re fortunate enough to have our daughter and her family close by. We FaceTime a lot with our son and granddaughters in Castle Rock, CO (south of Denver) as well. It’s amazing watching the grandchildren grow! We had a wedding to attend in Big Sky, MT, last fall, so we took a long road trip. We started out headed to Denver through Chattanooga then Kansas City, MO, and spent a week with our family there. Then we headed to Big Sky via Jackson Hole, WY. After the wedding, we left Big Sky on Labor Day and headed east. We stopped in Yellowstone, then on to Devils Tower, Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. The next stop was Detroit to visit old friends and our goddaughter and meet her family. From there, we went to Cleveland and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Our final stop was Nashville. It was a wonderful trip that took us almost three weeks and it was great to finally see some parts of America that we’d never seen. It’s hard to believe that next year is our 55th reunion, so start planning now for your trip to Byfield! It’ll be a great time, especially since we are officially part of The Old Guard now! Take care, stay safe and keep those updates coming!

CLASS OF 1969 Billy Clyde coachbclyde@gmail.com

1979 with a positivity that captured the team, fans, and especially, Bill! When the 49’ers defeated the Bengals in SB XVI, Bill was part of the collective cheer! Today, his five cornerstones of central interest are the Niners, Steven King (from Maine, of course), the Grateful Dead, Astrology, and the newfound treasure of Netflix. His pentagram is complete! Strides wishes all his classmates many blessings in 2022 and beyond. Thanks, Bill, for the great update. Jack Connelly and part of his family stopped by our home this past summer for an overnight. He is proudly adding grandchildren. “They are a blast to spend time with!” Jack stays active with soccer, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, biking, and kayaking. I get tired just writing all that! Jack, you set a great example for us all! Chris Barker writes that he continues with his teaching, tutoring and coaching. He was happy to visit with fellow Govs at the induction of Heb Evans into the Massachusetts Chapter of the Wrestling Hall of Fame. Chris is active in his local wrestling community by both coaching youth and mentoring new coaches. I can only imagine how good he is at spreading his knowledge. In addition, Chris finds time to tread the boards for local productions. Most recently, he could be seen and heard in the musical Urinetown. Now, on to the next show!

The winter of 21–22 has proven to be a slow news cycle. However, the news in general seems to be looking up with promises of better things to come. Let’s hope so! During the football playoffs, Bill Strider wrote with much excitement regarding his hometown team—the 49’ers! Alas, his team fell short this year. He is willing to wait until next year. Bill became hooked when Bill Walsh came to the Bay Area in

LEFT: Chris Barker ’79 (middle) performing in the musical Urinetown; ABOVE: Jack Connelly ’79 with

grandchild, Ada


My wife and I made the decision to leave our 21-acre farmstead and move into town—Wooster, OH. We found a smaller Cape, which will be a bit easier to maintain. It has been fun to go through closets and desk drawers. Why did I keep all this stuff?! Downsizing is a challenge and a reward at the same time. I have decided to preserve my memories. They are all that’s left me. Be well, you all. Hope to see many of you this June at the Reunion.

CLASS OF 1970 Terry Nolan nolante@gmail.com Hello Classmates! Seems like another edition of The Archon is upon us. It looks like by the time this article is published the endemic COVID-19 Omicron spike will be passed and we will be able to enjoy a less restricted social environment. In the meantime, for those of you in the class of 1970, we really need to find a way to celebrate 52+ years since graduation. Zoom again? Most of us are now 70 years old or older and hopefully enjoying these golden years with friends and family. The Governor’s Academy (GDA) has certainly changed and significantly since our departure, but for me, the memories of friends and faculty have only become more heart warming. I’m hoping the gray clouds hanging over these last few years are about to part and more classmates will share their notes here on The Archon and renew some old acquaintances. Outside of The Archon and request for notes, many of us share on social media, posts by Christopher Morse on his art successes, and old car fantasies, Barkley Simpson and his wife on their successes in working with Disney. Stillman Davis still the same in England, Ron Latham enjoying the west coast, Nat Williams, Morocco Flowers, Peter Blakney, Guy Swenson, William Tobey, Mark Linehan enjoying Oregon, John Newman, Joseph BorysthenTkacz, Roger Christie, Dr. Mike O’Leary and a whole bunch more on line, lookem up. I encourage you to try to reconnect and share your experience with classmates in these notes. Henry Eaton writes: “I’m staying warm and busy in winter ’22 down here in Naples, Florida. Riding out the latest

wave of COVID and hoping for the best going forward. I have been serving on the Board of Trustees at the Rectory School, where I am a member of the class of 1966. Like Gov’s, we have been navigating the complexities of running a busy school in the face of a daunting challenge. But I am part of a great team and it has been an energizing and rewarding endeavor. Wife Cathy Perron will reach full retirement from her faculty position at Boston University in June. Son Perry ’08, will be married in July and is teaching History and English at Beaver Country Day School. Daughter Brooke ’03, now a VP at American Express and very active with her new home in Newport, Rhode Island and her many activities. I feel blessed to be part of such a wonderful family and grateful that we are all happy and healthy. I am hoping that the Great Class of 1970 will finally gather in Byfield this year for a long overdue celebration of our 50th Reunion. I’m also excited to say I am working on a new project with my bandmates in Duke and the Drivers, hoping for an early summer release of a new collection. Best wishes to all. Henry” Van Cherington writes “Three cheers and many thanks to all involved in keeping our class notes and reunion opportunities going for the last 50+ years. I retired in Nov 2020 after ~40 years (and half a year remote work due to COVID) in biomedical research at academic and biotech institutions. I conducted and then directed research for the first half of my career (after grad school) followed by 20 years as a research administration director and compliance officer. Most of this work was based in the Boston area, although my most recent work brought me to the Wistar Institute in Philly (cancer, vaccine, virus research focus) in 2007. My wife, Deb, also retired in 2020. We enjoy Philly and have remained here for now living our ‘monastic’ pandemic lifestyle. Our adult daughter, Ellie, lives in South Philly so we enjoy seeing her regularly. Our son, Sam, and his wife live in LA and we enjoyed visiting them a lot pre-pandemic, but haven’t been there since mid-2019!! That’s way too long so we’re headed west early this year for a visit. Followed by many more I’m sure. I really enjoyed the virtual reunion last summer having missed the one in 2020. Catching up on what former

classmates have been up to and sharing recollections (including gossip about those who couldn’t make it) was fun. I was also amazed that I could recognize everyone on the call! Hopefully there can be more such events going forward for those of us who cannot make it to Byfield. A shout out to George Dill: I think I saw you on the call but you disappeared before I had a chance to say ‘hi.’” As for Terry Nolan: “After a few years in the military, I retired and went to the staff of the Georgia Institute of Technology as an internal auditor, information systems professional and retired in 2012. Our two sons are both married military professionals getting close to retiring and starting second careers as well. Where does the time go? Ruby and I are not so busy now being empty-nesters sharing time between our home in Jackson, Georgia and a few days a week in Atlanta. We’re enjoying old friends with the Korean Americans of Atlanta Associations. Most importantly for us, we are now the proud grandparents of 7 grandkids. Most unfortunate for us COVID travel restrictions have prevented us from traveling to Okinawa to visit with 5 of them. We’re hoping Japan will reduce those restrictions soon. So we are: grandkid rich but grandkid visits poor. Looking forward to brighter skies and an opportunity to catch up with classmates soon.”

CLASS OF 1971 James Fleming jamesfleming817@gmail.com Our own Bob Veasey threw out the ceremonial first pitch in Wrigley Field prior to the Chicago Cub vs. St. Louis Cardinals on Sept 24, 2021 in Chicago. Bob won the raffle prize when he bought a ticket to support SkyArt, an organization that supports youth in Chicago (see skyart.org). Bob went out to the mound and threw a strike. Way to go, Bob! Julian Ellis has checked in with the following: Got the passport. Got the jab. Given up long distance planning tho. But am’t I annoyed that I didna know about the pub in Newburyport eleven years ago? I guess when softball was called off. We’ll see what will be allowed about travel Summer of Twenty Two...it would be nice to do the fiftieth...News 2021/22...three jabs...two

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

55


AZN, one Pfizer…relatives and neighbours all OK...thriving five year old business... bank got in touch in January to ask if I was money laundering!... like if I would!...had to prove it...and just written a book, a novel because you couldna go out all through COVID, so what do you do evenings? Next door neighbour is asking about publishing it... know any publishers? I don’t. Not my usual kind of work. Yep. Will run the 5k pie race if it is on grass. 5k morning runs round the local school playing fields—soccer, rugby and cricket pitches—all thru COVID. So, health wise OK which is the main thing. Warren Ross writes: My wife Ann and I have moved from Boston to St. Petersburg, Florida. We’re endlessly amazed by the countless good things, all sorts of things going on in this excellent friendly little city which does not feel little at all. To classmates: Peace and Happiness to every one of you guys! Sam Tamposi: My Greetings and wishes of best health and happiness to my classmates. Over the last couple of years, COVID has given me an excuse to become a couch potato with lots of Netflix binge-watching and poor dietary habits producing an expanded waistline. A skiing

trip to Jackson Hole in January revealed my deteriorating physical condition as I could barely get up after a fall unassisted except for my ski poles which thereafter never resumed their original shape. As of this writing, I’m in Florida for another week spending time with my daughter, son-in-law and four (4) grandchildren and then back to NH to enjoy our four (4) other grandchildren. I continue to work in the family real estate business in NH and plan to wind down over the next five (5) years or so. I’m playing some mediocre golf with Sharon, and I’m grateful to rarely resorting to quote Mark Twain’s expression: “Golf is a good walk ruined.” I look forward to reconnecting with my classmates at our 50th in June! From Jeff Molitor: We really like living in Coastal Georgia—great weather, terrific golf, beautiful beaches. nice people from all over, and our kids and grandkids love to come here. I am planning on coming to the reunion. Gig Barton and his wife Holly are busy in retirement. Both their daughter Spencer and their son George were married in 2021. Gig and Holly are growing and harvesting lavender on their farm in the Hudson Valley. For more cool photos go to Instagram Trumbullfarms or their website trumbullfarms.com From Mike Wellman: I am glad to know there will be a class reunion in June. After graduating from USC and UVA where I received an MBA, I worked for 25 years as Executive Search Recruiting Officer for Korn Ferry International. At Korn Ferry my clients included Pepsi Cola, General Electric and American Express. In March 2010, I had a stroke which resulted in aphasia. Aphasia is caused by damage to the brain’s language center, making speech and understanding

ABOVE: Bob Veasey ’70 throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Wrigley Field; RIGHT: Gig

Barton ’71 harvesting lavender and working on his farm, Trumbull Farms; FAR RIGHT: L to R: Mike, Jr. and his wife Katie, Michael Wellman ’72, the bride Carolina, the groom my son Zach, my wife Lynn, my son Ben and his wife Amanda.

56

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022


difficult. The aphasia does not affect my intellect or learning ability. I have been working as a volunteer with the University of South Carolina Aphasia Laboratory and able-sc.org. So, I may be "retired" but I am very active in this endeavor which seeks to empower people with disabilities. I also stay busy playing golf, watching USC and UVA sports, cooking, landscaping, exterior painting, working on cars and handyman around the house. My wife Lynn works as Regional Systems Developer for Midlands Perinatal of Prisma Health. Here is a photo from the wedding of our son Zach and Carolina Matthews last November 20. Class Secretary’s note: I am sure we are all wishing Mike continued good health and we all congratulate him for this courageous undertaking. Way to go, Mike! (Mike was also my classmate in the 6th, 7th and 8th grade at the Fenn School in Concord, Massachusetts.)

CLASS OF 1972 George Freimarck gfreimarck@gmail.com Dear Classmates of 1972, By the time this reaches you, I hope there is still time before the big 5-Oh! Reunion for sign-up, for those of you who have not already done so. Reunion, June 10–12, thegovernorsacademy.org/alumni/reunion Make a gift in honor of the class. I highly recommend contacting either Tom Trafton (ttrafton@govsacademy.org, 978-4993273) or Daryl Robicsek (drobicsek@ govsacademy.org, 978-499-3152) to consider your options. We start off with a lengthy catch-up missive from Gus Selke, who, it appears, was inspired to reconnect after all these years because of something I wrote. Imagine that. Well, as someone once said “flattery will get you anywhere.” Thank you Gus, and great to hear all this. Gus Selke: Dear George, Class Secretary: Fifty Years Already? You got me thinking about TGA again with your powerful message in the latest Archon (Fall ’21). I looked you up and discovered that your photo is missing from our yearbook (that’s F.U.B.A.R.) and was surprised to learn

you got into Columbia: Bachelors and Masters too—wow. Not what I expected from the badass we all knew as Choppah! A nickname I assumed you earned as leader of a motorcycle gang or as Phippen’s Consiglieri. Thus, I was slayed by how artfully you teed up our 50th Reunion, starting with the perfect tribute to your predecessor, and a call to action for long lost guys like me. You make the good point that we’ll be pleasantly surprised even by guys we didn’t know well at the time; then you go on to prove it, by delivering an eloquent and thought-provoking piece I couldn’t shake, including these inspiring words: “Can we turn back time? Of course not, and who really wants to? But we can gain a measure of ourselves, and regain a certain joy, in reconnecting next June. If the child is father to the man, then let’s see what happened.” —G.Freimarck OK my good man, challenge accepted. My last contribution to The Archon was back in the 70s. Anybody remember my faux “shoe shine stand,” “parking attendant” or “prison guard” updates? My father didn’t see the humor and maybe nobody else did either. Mea culpa and time to come clean. On 50 years... I know, keep it short and interesting and remember K.I.S.S. First it needs to be said that I, and we all admire those in our class who have excelled in meaningful ways, helping people and making the world better. My hat is off to each of you as I submit my humble report, which of course will be based on Etaoin Shrdlu. For starters, those who bet I’d end up in a trailer park will not be getting their money back. But if you wagered I’d get rich, perhaps having joined Microsoft or Amazon early, unfortunately, you lose too. It’s a long story: like each of yours, fifty years in the making. Some of you know that I worked for the Boston Symphony Orchestra during my college years, administering the Tanglewood Music Festival. I had hoped to leverage that experience into a job in Boston, but after 6 months of striking out, I struck out for Seattle. I sold Mercedes and BMWs for a year, then sold newspaper ad space while writing music reviews and taking night classes. Then I got a PR stint with the City of Seattle which led to 9 years at ad agencies. During which I renovated and resold three houses, in the no-growth 80s Seattle—before grunge, lol—to generate enough equity to pay cash for the lakeside

townhouse I lived in for 25 years. Age 35, I got a lucky break and was hired by the regional Bell company (US WEST) to handle marketing communications for their new division and product called a cell phone, which at that point were wired into cars. I worked with top management to help grow our original 15-state network and 4 thousand customers into 40 million customers and the national network of Verizon Wireless. It was an exciting time and I worked virtually non-stop for 13 years traveling frequently and creating some 40 TV commercials in L.A. By 2001 I had accumulated enough investments, mostly in telecom and internet stocks, to completely retire. So that summer when Verizon wanted to transfer me to New Jersey, I decided to resign. Right before 9/11, when companies stopped hiring, the stock market crashed, some big companies went broke and I came close. At the same time, the Internet decimated my field of mass media advertising (along with many others) and I applied unsuccessfully for jobs through 2002. I shifted to freelance writing web content, and contract work for clients including Microsoft. Along the way I built a cabin on 20 acres overlooking the Columbia River Valley, wrote a movie script, spent a year in Santa Fe, delivered the eulogy at both parents’ funerals, and before retiring was drafted to run a condo association and 770-unit complex on 85 acres with bar and restaurant. Needing a house in 2016 but priced out of Redmond, I bought a fixer near Tacoma which I remodeled and now share with my wife Rachel. She moved here with her three sons from Thailand in 2010 to give them better educational opportunities. The two older ones landed at Norman Rockwell

1972ers Pete Franklin, Pete Conway, George Freimarck, Jim Irving, Jim Pierce at a football game in Byfield

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

57


elementary in Redmond, the only school named after the artist from my hometown who used me twice as a model. Now those two are at the University of Washington and one graduates this June. Life is good here in the Northwest, although we did endure a 115 degree “heat dome” last summer. I enjoy lots of home cooked Thai food and our big backyard shares a border with 400 acres of public park surrounding a lake, and the campus of Pierce College; providing lots of territory for daily walks with my Norfolk Terrier named Lucy. I’ll upload some pics which we all know will be worth more than all these words! I wish each member of ’72 good health and long life—and for record-breaking attendance and fun at the 50th! Sorry I’m not on Facebook but I will respond to emails: gusselke@gmail.com 102 Crestwood Dr SW, Lakewood, WA 98498 Sarah Ewell Smith: Hola George! You are doing a fabulous job keeping us all up to date! Much appreciated! Geoff Durham and I are staying at a Fairfield Inn for Fri & Sat night—Geoff is my DD ; ) all weekend! So please mark me as a YES for attending… at this point I’m 90% sure I can get there. (GF note: Todd, Sarah’s husband, is having memory issues and “is doing ok at the memory care facility.”) I have Tom Trafton from GDA stopping in for lunch tomorrow here in K’port. Hopefully the LUGE has softened up enough to be safe… there are parts of the driveway you could skate on!

(3/4 of a mile dirt road) Tom wants info on “50 years of Women at GDA.” It’s not easy to come up with stuff that’s fit to print. My tax volunteering is back up and running after a year’s absence. An "Easy Schedule" with one long day and one half day—only about 10 volunteers to oversee. Ten years ago I had ten tax sites and almost 40 volunteers to oversee covering all of York County ME. That was very hard! All the clients need to get an appointment due to COVID—no more walk-ins. I run that too. I have a Google Voice number and I have 4 gmail accounts to track! The Google Voice transcribes the voicemail—pretty slick! I have two monitors set up too—who knew! I have to set up secure Wifi within the public Libraries Wifi and reprogram the network printers and scanners with specific IP addresses too. The IRS has adopted AARP Tax-aide since they are so understaffed— they pay for our paper and printers now. By volunteering all of February, March & half of April my Maine winter goes by wicked fast. By late April I will fly to Pitt to visit my son, daughter-in-law & granddaughter for 10 days—fun! They are building a big new home with a great school district. They have invited me to live with them. I told them I hope to visit often and for long visits! Take care—be safe! Thanks again for all of your updates! Cheers! Sarah Geoff Durham: My first grandchild. See photo. (A boy) Born 11/23/21. Very nice Christmas as the family is bigger now. I do plan on making the reunion. A road trip east before the annual road trip to WY. Richard Hackel: Here I am, 50 years later, with headphones on trying to learn the bass part to "Sea of Joy" by Blind Faith, and it seems like just yesterday I was in my dorm room at GDA trying to figure out the guitar part. I’m glad to report that not much has changed. And Guy and the Greasers is getting the band back together for the 50th! We’ve been rehearsing almost every Tuesday on Zoom, such as it is, for the past few months. After the initial shock of seeing my old bandmates on the first Zoom meeting, everyone now looks about the same. We’ll be playing our now very old songs, and some of them in a slightly lower key. The lineup for the 50th includes Mark Hoffman, Geoff Durham, Tim Traver, Chris Swenson, Andy Lappin, Joe Sekora, myself and Doug Doty will

First grandson of Geoff Durham ’72

58

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022

stand in and play guitar on a few tunes. Mark Manuelian returns as our soundguy extraordinaire. These days I feel very lucky to be retired and have returned to my initial career after college as a fulltime un-employed artist. But instead of San Francisco I now live in Maine. richardhackel.com Bill Watts (per Charles Bouchard): Hey Charles. Good to hear from you. All is well here. As you may recall, my younger daughter Nikki, her home-building husband and 3 kids live next door to me and Joy in attached houses. The grandkids (girl/boy/girl) are now 17, 13 and almost 12. A few of the two younger generations got COVID recently, but everyone is vaccinated and nobody got very sick. To my knowledge, neither Joy or I have gotten it. I feel great. Despite bad osteoarthritis in both knees, I walk 2–3 miles per day and maintain a healthy diet of fresh ale and red wine at the neighborhood brewery and winery. Our older daughter Kate (married with no kids) will be selling their house in Seattle in a few months and moving into our soon-to-be rebuilt barn with overhead dwelling. A real family compound. The last time we flew anywhere was when we last saw you in June 2012. After decades of traveling all over the world, mainly on the job, I have since developed a pathological disdain for traveling. So as much I would like to snap my fingers and be there this coming June, as well as visiting Maine again, such a trip remains highly doubtful. Ironically, 3 days ago we got a visit from Rob Martin and his wife Linda. I had not seen Rob in 49 years. They have been living in Bordeaux France for the past 33 years. Their son moved to the area a few years ago and I accidentally met him and his then soon-to-be-wife at my neighborhood brewery. They are now married with a 3-month old kid and living in Kingston, WA, 20 minutes drive away. That is why Rob was here. It was great hanging with him for a few hours. Jon (Joth) Davis lives here on Bainbridge Island, but I very rarely see him. He could not join us a few days ago because he was in quarantine. I have seen some of your Facebook posts, particularly your lovely daughter Olivia (great name). I would ask when you plan to retire, but suspect you may be enjoying your work life too much to completely back off. I am still working a very flexible and easy 30 hours a week, as it keeps the


brain from completely turning into mush. Although I don’t go anywhere, you are most welcome any time if you happen to be in the Seattle/Puget Sound area. This is a popular ferry ride destination. "Killer" Bill 206-605-9239 See youse all in Byfield, June 10–12!

CLASS OF 1973 Glen Winkel drwink@me.com Greetings to the class of 1973! By the time you are reading these class notes, it will be nearly June 2022, which means our 50th Reunion is about one year away! The pandemic will be endemic by then, vaccines and endless “booster” shots should be history and hopefully the world will begin to return to normal. There should be no virus-related excuses to prevent you from attending our 50th class reunion! What a great time to get together and celebrate the 50 years since we were young cubs at the Academy! So, if you haven’t yet blocked off your 2023 calendar, mark out the June 9–11 weekend to return to the town of Byfield, Massachusetts. While class notes are smaller with fewer responses, stay tuned for the blockbuster announcement towards the end. Starting off with the Law!: Walter Rivera writes in from New York: “As for me, I am still serving as a state judge in New York and teach a Law Practice Management course at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University in White Plains, NY. In 2021, I was elected as President of the statewide Latino Judges Association. In 2020, I co-founded the Hudson Valley Hispanic Bar Association. I enjoy mentoring high school, college, and law school students as well as young lawyers that are re-learning the ropes so to speak. It is my way of paying forward the many opportunities that I have had over the course of my career. I am blessed with three wonderful children and four grandchildren. My wife Isabel and I are empty nesters and plan to travel to Spain when circumstances permit. Our son Marcelo lives in Madrid and my older two children are stateside. I am often asked if I am retired yet, but I still enjoy my

work and will hold off on that for now. I am looking forward to our 50th reunion. wrivera1903@optonline.net" While I know some reading these notes have “retired” when you love what you do, why retire? Thanks Walter, your continued dedication to those in law appreciate all that you do! From law, we turn to sports and John Blake writes in from Texas: “I completed 43 seasons as a professional baseball communications director in 2021, 33 over two stints with the Texas Rangers between my time with the Red Sox. For 2022, I am ‘transitioning’ into a new role as EVP of Public Affairs as I feel it is time to stop making roadtrips and asking players who are 40 years younger than me to do walk-off interviews. I’ll still be active in a number of areas, especially as the Rangers celebrate 50 years in Texas in 2022. We opened a new stadium with a roof but no fans in 2020 and hosted the MLB post-season even though the Rangers did not participate! Otherwise, it’s been a lot of zoom interviews and limited player access for two years. I volunteer as a docent at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum (President Bush was my boss when he owned the Rangers in the early 1990s) and am exploring other opportunities down the road. The baseball season has prevented me from attending any GDA reunion since 1978 but I’m hoping to be there for the 50th! Take care and be well.” Larry Coles, writes in that “All is well. Still happily working for maybe another year or two. Working 100% remote permanently. Definitely ‘zoomed out’ over the past two years both personal and work. Spoke with Sheila Young (Ed’s wife) and Eddie (my godsons). They are great and send regards. Thanks to all who reached out to me over the holidays in the loss of my father. Some may remember, I lost my mom in our junior year, 50 years ago. I look forward to our 50th reunion. Happy to help on the planning committee. Be safe and well, my friends. Warm regards” Thanks Larry for reaching out and especially for helping plan our 50th Reunion. If there are others out there that would like to help plan, organize and contact long-lost friends prior to our reunion, contact me as I’ll start putting the committee together after this years

reunions are over in June. I also received news from halfway around the world! Mike Balf writes in from his kibbutz in Israel: “Shalom to all, seeing all those names from my past got me to meandering a little bit. I arrived at GDA— yes I know that that acronym already dates me, but hey got to stay true to my past—in the fall of 1971. I do not want to sound overly dramatic, but it does seem fair to just say that it feels very far away as does the idea that in the spring of 2023 it will have been 50 years since graduation. We are still living in Kibbutz Maagan Michael which is in the eyes of many people, not just unobjective people like me, one of the most beautiful kibbutz in Israel. It is also the largest in Israel, i.e. the world! I will be completing my 4-year tenure as assistant mayor and director of all the social welfare and municipal services here in September, at which point I will probably be retiring. It has been a fascinating 2 years managing a commune of these proportions and complexity and I say that without mentioning having to deal with a worldwide pandemic in addition. Rachel and I have three great children, as well as 3 wonderful grandchildren. Two of our children live here on the kibbutz as well as the grandchildren so it is really a pleasure to have all of us in the same community. We were back in the States at the end of November after a 2 year hiatus. Hopefully we will be able to continue to visit without having to endure more COVID restrictions but who knows? I would like to make it to the 50th. It is a little difficult to predict, but I am very curious to see many of you. The likelihood of having visitors from GDA was never high and of late I am sure that it has plummeted, but if any of you are in the vicinity the beach is great here and the beer is cold. Feel free to drop by. All the best Mike” And finally, for the blockbuster news! THEY ARE BACK!! “They”?, who are they? None other than Guy and the Greasers!! As Mark Hoffman relates in his email: ”I continue to work as a Principal Systems Engineer, designing medical devices. It is very rewarding work and motivates me every day to work hard to improve the lives of patients. I also just completed my first year as a member of the Board of Directors for The Cobscook Institute, located in

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

59


Lubeck, Maine. The Institute is located Downeast on the border of Canada and promotes rural education and community activities and resides on a beautiful campus that includes classroom buildings and a large lodge. My most exciting news concerns ‘Guy and the Greasers’. The band is back together! We have been rehearsing (via Zoom and in person) in preparation for Reunion 2022. Members of the band are in both the Classes of ’73 and ’72 and the Class of ’72 has asked us to be part of their 50th Reunion. Members of the Class of ’73 in the band are: Geoff White (vocals), Mark Manuelian (sound and lights), Doug Doty (guitar and vocals) and myself (vocals and guitar). Still looking for our wonderful manager Doug Wilson ’73. The Greasers would love to play at our 50th Reunion in 2023 (if we are invited by the Class of ’73). Check out our website at guyandthegreasers.com to see pictures of the Class of ’73 and hear songs recorded in 1973 at GDA dances.” Be sure to check out the website and go back in time to those days when Guy and the Greasers performed live on the GDA campus! If you are in Byfield during Reunion weekend 2022, do swing by and support the band and I am sure the reunion committee will invite the band to perform at our 50th! As for me, I am still in the US, until I can get the necessary documents/paperwork which takes forever through the US government and with a pandemic even slower! So, I may yet be in the US prior to our 50th. We shall see, but I have been

doing extensive genealogical research into my family to get my family documents in order and goodness, what a complicated and long story my ancestors had coming to the US in 1903! Hopefully once I get to South Korea, I’ll be able to get “the rest of the story” as Paul Harvey would say. But either way, unless there is yet another pandemic, I will be in Byfield to finally jump over the wall with Tony Hall!! June 9–11, 2023. Put it on your calendar, write it on your mind and start making plans to return to Byfield. While it’s only a year away, you know how us old folks are, before you know it, it’ll be next week. Hoping to see many of you at GDA in June of 2023 for our 50th Reunion. If you are not on the email list, be sure to contact me via email below so you can get all the reunion updates and planning ideas. Till then, stay safe, healthy and of course be happy!

CLASS OF 1974 Pam Toner ptoner@optonline.net Hard to believe that COVID is still in the headlines after 2 years! My family has managed quite well during this pandemic, and, for that, I am grateful. So excited to be part of the great real estate boom now. My daughters are doing well, one in Brooklyn, NY, and the other in Missoula, MT. We are looking forward to a trip to Capri, Italy, this summer. Deborah Pope Garand writes that COVID had a silver lining for David and me. We were able move back to New England from Upstate NY to be near our kids and grandchildren! Fortunately, we are all well and a 3rd grandchild is on the way!! David Schumann reports that “My husband Michael and I moved to New Hope, PA, in 2015. 10 days after my 60th birthday I had a mild heart incident and was hospitalized and had triple bypass surgery. I am doing very well now. We are both vaccinated and after recovering from mild bouts of Omicron over the holidays we are enjoying occasionally eating out again. I am spending time painting and also working for the foundation my father left. He would have been 100 years old last summer. I was commissioned to do his portrait and one of my grandmother for the

Guy and the Greasers performing live at GDA in 1973

60

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022

library in Madison, CT. They are hanging there now. We are looking forward to a couple of trips this spring to NYC to see shows and visit with friends. This summer we will be going to Italy on a two week artist residency.”

CLASS OF 1975 Pam Pandapas pamrobfine@msn.com Pam Pandapas: At the time of this writing I have just returned from a 2-week ski vacation in Sun Valley, Idaho with two of my brothers and my sisters-in-law. It was a long-overdue reunion but proved to be well worth the wait. We had a wonderful time and the skiing was great. Over the course of last year, Rob and I enjoyed several concerts and look forward to several more this year. Rob is working hard, as usual, and I continue to work on home improvements. I also hope that the weather this spring and summer will be more conducive to successful gardening than it was last year. My usually bountiful vegetable garden was a dismal fail last year with the weird weather. But I will soldier on and try again. I hope everyone is well and staying safe. I look forward to our 50th reunion when we can finally get together. It has been far too long. Starr Gilmartin: There’s not too much exciting to report from the rural state of Maine, which should be covered with snow. However, these days it’s mostly ice. Today I managed to escape to catch some of the white stuff in Western Maine for some perfect X-country skiing. Today truly epitomized the new Maine slogan: “The way life should be.” I am continuing to spend my time working in emergency psychiatric care during the pandemic that keeps me busy and in a constant state of


disbelief. Despite loving snow, I’m looking forward to spending a week in February in Belize. And if luck holds out, I will finally be able to go on my thrice canceled bike trip through Portugal in May. Leslie Abbott Haas: It certainly has been a different world out there, but life goes on. My family has grown and I now have 2 grandsons. I am expecting a granddaughter in early April and am absolutely thrilled. My oldest son just got engaged, so there is also a wedding in the future. She is a lovely girl and the whole family is very happy. I am still working for the USPS and enjoying it. As much as COVID is an issue, I am a social person, and work allows me to interact with people. I hear about people’s families and problems. Sometimes it’s like being a bartender without the booze! I also meet local people I otherwise might not meet and as a result I have made some wonderful new friends. One of my new friends is a 93-year-old 4th generation stained glass artist from Holland. She lives down the street, but we never knew each other. Now we get together about once a week, and it’s become a great friendship. I also joined the “Owning Chickens Culture”. I wasn’t sure how it would go, but they are fun and I get fresh eggs! My daughter, who’s expecting, and her husband both graduated with their Masters in Business Administration from UNH last summer!

Cool find by Mike Sapuppo ’75 at his parents’ house

interfere with my life anymore. I started off the new year by traveling to Costa Rica and spent New Year’s partying in Puerto Viejo on the Atlantic coast. Next stop is Deer Valley at the end of January! Here are a few photos from Costa Rica. Dave Bohman: I am reliving my Mike True and David Abusamra days, and have been running in 5K road races, occasionally winning my age group at events in and around West Palm Beach. I recently got

together with top runner Rob Squire, who no longer runs. We plan to get together for some spring training baseball. Work at NBC 5 here in town is challenging, and I have frequently anchored morning newscasts which involve a 2 AM alarm. Investigative reporting is going well. I recently won two Florida Broadcast awards for showing the

Michael Sapuppo: I’m not letting COVID

RIGHT: Mike Sapuppo ’75 visit to Costa Rica; LEFT AND MIDDLE BOTTOM: Pam Pandapas ’75 visit to Sun Valley; MIDDLE TOP: Rich O’Leary ’75 and Sam

Gilliland ’75: What’s going on here?

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

61


consequences of backlogged courts due to COVID, and identity thieves who used every day people’s personal information to get agricultural grants. Peter Richardson: I retired at the end of last year after 42 years in financial services. It was about time! I don’t have big plans other than my bees and grandkids. Our 2nd grandchild, Parker Virginia Richardson, was born on April 2. She is a beauty! I see P. Wheeler Gemmer from time to time, and Pam Post occasionally. Rich O’Leary: Everyone found ways to escape the doldrums of the pandemic. For some of us that meant long walkabouts in all kinds of weather. Classmate Sam Gilliland and I live about 1 mile from one another and frequently escape our respective at-home offices (or also Sam’s nearby company office) for a walk around town. In this photo we are in frigid January on one of our outings. Do you wonder what’s happening in this scenario? Write in your answers to Pam for publication in the next Archon. Watch this space to hear the best answers to where we might be and what the heck is going on here. Greg Pope: All is well in the Greg and Elizabeth Pope Family so far. Our oldest son, Keais, switched from ER doctor to Palliative Care doctor after doing his 2nd Residency at Scripps in San Diego. He has seen a lot of death in the last 2 years, but burnout in the ER was too much. Our Liza is having her 4th child and living in Anacortes, WA along with her husband Lt. Nathan Fultz, Aviator on the carrier Vincent. He had a rough start on this his last Tour on Carriers, as he was the Landing Safety Officer (LSO) on the deck when the Navy F35 crashed. He is safe, but I worry about his state of mind after such an event. The Captain and XO of the Vincent said there was nothing his landing team could have done differently, so that was really a relief to him. It will still have a lasting effect but, fortunately, no one died. Our Charlotte is living out of a Sprinter Van with her boyfriend, skiing all the mountains they can out West, all the while working remotely for Extraordinary Adventures out of NYC. They focus on 5-star Safaris. Guess who’s going on Safari! Elizabeth and I rented our daughter Liza’s first home in Anacortes and Elizabeth is living there for the time being while I am on the road,

62

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022

bouncing back and forth from Boston. I do have businesses to run ya know…never seems to catch up somehow. In other fun news, you may hear of a new product that we hope goes viral called “Chalkless.” It’s a new Grip Enhancement Technology that works in every sport. Already it is being used within the MLB, PGA, NBA, and with a host of pro athletes. It has been a fun project. The idea was born out of a need for me to stop losing my racket during summertime Platform Tennis on our court in the backyard. We just launched on Amazon February 1st so please follow us on Instagram at “Chalklessgrip.” If you could just do that, I would be grateful as once we get over 200 followers, the algorithm places us higher. I hope to see you all someday! Jim O’Donnell: 2020/2021 was a grand year for the O’Donnell clan. Near Christmas 2020, our first grandchild was born, Nora Sheils Buhowski. In our friend group, we were the last to join the party and clearly understand the joy and impact it has had on our family. A lot of our decisions in 2021 were based upon her existence and it has just been a fantastic experience. Our daughter and son-in-law live close by which makes Grandma very happy. Our son is in a Master’s Program for Public Policy at Princeton and seems to enjoy it after three years in Washington with a think tank. I, like many of our classmates, am approaching the back nine of my career in Funeral Service but still have enough years left to figure that all out with my wife. Finally, it seems the older I get, the more nostalgic I get and my thoughts of GDA, yes, I said it, are filled with fond memories of many of you. Be safe. Be well! Mike Ponce: The girls are off to college and my siblings and I have put the finishing touches on settling Mom and Dad’s estate. My mom passed a year ago November. What a surprise when the lawyer from Morgan called us to tell us we were the recipients of Great Uncle Jay’s estate as the last recipient of interest had passed away at 102 years of age. So, like the other GDA classmates that have retired Jen and I have decided to throw in the towel. We will be abroad most of the year on our picnic boat please see the attachment. We plan to circle back toward Mount Desert in 2023! Ha! Gotcha! In truth, the Ponces are happy to report that everything is great!

Jen’s business is moving along and both girls made the Dean’s list! I am fighting for affordable healthcare! I might retire when I am dead! Oh, I added bees to our property: 3 hives with another 3 arriving in the spring. We head out to Jackson Hole in June with all the siblings, their kids and their significant others to put Mom and Dad to rest in the Snake River. Keith Esthimer: I have completed a Stephen Ministry Leadership course and can now ply my knowledge with our congregation which is very exciting. Craig McConnell: Kristi and I have been under the weather for most of the month of January. We came down with something on New Year’s while down in St. Augustine, Florida and it has lingered. There’s not much to report from Ohio. A little white stuff on the ground (26") but otherwise we have not been doing much. We hope to get out and do some cross-country skiing soon. Have a wonderful spring (when it gets here) and summer. Lisa Johnson: This has been a year of changes and happenings: a marriage (daughter), a passing (father), retirement (not quite, but soon), and good health (no COVID or anything else). Many other people are sick (COVID and other serious illnesses). There also has been in-person and remote schooling. And there have been masks and no masks, too. There is a lot happening in the world but happily, we are all managing to keep our heads above water. We are grateful for our family and friends in a chaotic world. Stay well everyone! Barry Miller: February 1st was my first day of retirement. Alarm Clocks and Road Warrior, “Nevermore”! On to The Third Half!!! Karen and I were grateful for

Inheritance of Mike Ponce ’75 (Did you fall for it?)


the extended holiday visits of our three married kids, their spouses, and our two grandsons. Our immediate plan is to enjoy Florida life. This spring we will visit our children and grandsons in LA and NYC and catch the Bruins in Chicago with our daughter and son-in-law. Hopefully, my golf game improves before we visit Italy in July. Then it’s “rinse and repeat!”

continued to meet the COVID challenges through the year. To date, four out of five of our immediate family members have had cases with varying degrees of seriousness since September. We all managed to come through okay though. I hope all my classmates are seeing things starting to improve wherever they live. Stay healthy and have a wonderful spring!

Wendy O’Brien: Hello to all! Sean and I are very happily residing in Florida for the winter! I have waited my entire life to be a snowbird! Home to Wolfeboro when the snow melts and not a minute sooner!

Spencer Purinton: Little has changed for me as I’m still married to my exceptional partner Lisa, live in Newburyport, work in the same business going on 40 years, and share the holidays and occasional weekends with my three impressive Govs alum daughters. It makes me giddy thinking about our celebration of 50 years of women at Governor’s who together have helped transform our High School into a truly exceptional independent school. I continue to volunteer as a Govs Board member, general cheerleader, and, as you all know well by now, fundraiser. I recently caught up with classmate Peter Richardson over a fancy lunch in Portland and as you would all expect he is the same brilliant, humble, and incredibly handsome 75’er. I’m also in touch on a regular basis with Lisa Johnson, Jamie White, Rob Kaplan, and Rich O’Leary, all of whom are prospering

Peter Templeton: Here is a peek at a Craftsman inspired free standing display cabinet (one of two), home library, fireplace mantle and flanking built-in display cabinetry, which my company Tree of Life Woodworks completed this past fall. More recently we have been working on some very contemporary residential cabinet jobs (no completion photos yet). We continue to be quite busy with many varying types of commissions scheduled for this spring and summer. Here in Taos we have had a somewhat mild winter with only two major storms to date. Although I am not a skier, I have heard the skiing at the Taos Ski Valley has been great. Hopefully we’ll get some more late winter moisture before it’s all through. Like many of us our family has

in their own way. Their friendship takes on greater importance with every passing year.

CLASS OF 1976 Carol Ann Goldberg carolanngoldberg9@gmail.com Happy and Healthy New Year to you all. I have been very quiet about submitting notes. We need to rectify this. We would love to hear how you have navigated these difficult times. I hope you and your families are all well and able to get out more these days. Please do write to me with your updates. Yours truly made a big change 18 months ago, leaving the Upper East Side New York City after living there for 32 years and moving back to my childhood home in Massachusetts. It is a bittersweet change… an existential experience I did not expect. But hey, as Monty Python so brilliantly used to say, “No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!” I am not used to living in New England, especially in winter time. If you are in my neck of the woods, please do come to visit me! My daughter is a journalist living in Brooklyn and she is working for Vanity Fair. I am so proud of her! We are plotting a travel adventure and hope we can pull this off soon. Liz Field Pino writes “…going into my 19th year at IBM. Never imagined I’d be a software engineer. I will be married 33 years this coming May. Between my spouse and my horse, I will never be able to afford to retire. LOL…go to the barn, the gym, rinse and repeat. I did have a lovely vacation in SW Florida and sure wish I was there today. Would love to have a mini GDA reunion one of these weekends when I visit my Mom (92 years young) at Nichols Village in Groveland.” This sounds like a super plan, Liz. Steve Spaulding has checked in as well… “We’ve had lots of fun with the grandsons this year, enjoying Nerf and Supersoaker battles. We had to drive to Des Moines for a funeral in July. It was good to drive through areas we hadn’t seen before, and now Keo wants to see more of the country. That should give us something to do in retirement, still a few years aways. A couple of years ago, I happened upon a job that I really like, in manufacturing, with a great management team. I run things at night,

Amazing craftsmanship by Peter Templeton ’75

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

63


which is what I want to be doing. We want to get back to Thailand this year. Resorts are basically open now, but the area we need to get to for family hasn’t opened yet. Other than that, ‘they’ track visitors, which I’m not too keen on. Looking forward to the 50th reunion…” Wow, Steve, that is only 4 years away. How mind-bending is that!?! We need to start planning now. As many of you know, our classmate Ged Carbone is a brilliant writer. Below are his divine notes to me and his fascinating take on his research revealing history of the Moodys and “Dummer Academy”… I’ve accidentally become the go-to person for writing about industrial history in Rhode Island. For various clients I have written or presented about Brown & Sharpe, A.T. Cross pens, Federal/Mahr products, Gorham Silver. I am currently writing about nineteenth-century textile mills in Woonsocket, a project that introduced me to an ingenious industrial innovator, Byfield native Paul Moody. If Moody’s last name sounds familiar, it should, as in Governor Academy’s “Moody Hall.” In a book I read for research, Ingenious Machinists by Anthony J. Connors, I found the following: “The Moodys were associated with Dummer Academy, a school ‘intermediate between the common school and college,’ the first such preparatory school in Massachusetts. When the school opened in Byfield in 1763, Paul’s great-uncle Samuel Moody was its principal, and he remained in that position until 1790. By all accounts, Samuel was an odd man, although probably less eccentric than his father, the Reverend Joseph Moody, who was well-known throughout New England as ‘Handkerchief Moody’ for his lifelong custom of hiding his face from public view. In his youth, he had accidentally killed a friend, and chose this means of atoning for it. Moody’s peculiarity provided the basis for Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story ‘The Minister’s Black Veil.’ “Dummer Academy (now The Governor’s Academy) was free to all boys from Byfield.” At least two of Paul Moody’s children attended Bradford Academy in Haverhill, which was also the first of four colleges where I have completed programs (Bradford, UNH, Stanford, and Brown.) Moody first heard about powerful waterfalls along the Merrimack in 1822,

64

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022

while visiting his children at Bradford Academy. Again, from Ingenious Mechanics: “[H]e drove to Bradford to see his children, with the expectation of meeting some of the leading Waltham proprietors in or near Bradford for the purpose of exploring [sites for waterpower.] The day, however, was rainy, and the gentlemen did not come according to his expectations. The next day he took his family and went down to Amesbury, where he saw Mr. Worthen, who having been given to understand the object of the excursion, said: ‘Why don’t you go up to Pawtucket Falls? There is power there worth ten times as much as you will find anywhere else’ Moody visited the Pawtucket Falls in what was then Chelmsford, and witnessed their potential for powering textile mills. He worked for the Boston Manufacturing Company in Waltham, designing power looms with Francis Cabot Lowell Patrick Tracy Jackson. He alerted his bosses in the Boston Manufacturing Company to the immense power of falls. Lowell, Jackson, and company director Nathan Appleton hired Moody to engineer and supervise their new textile mills at what became, after Lowell’s death from pneumonia in 1824, the eponymous City of Lowell. I loved the coincidences of seeing Dummer and Bradford Academies, places that shaped my education, and the names Moody, Appleton, Jackson, and Lowell. I attended Governors with Appletons, Jacksons, and Lowells, when Moody Hall was the girls dormitory (and woe to the boy who got caught in it). I enjoy writing stories about the former times, because they help me fix my place in the present and extrapolate the future. In researching my book about Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene (who visited a nephew attending Governors) I came across a footnote referencing a paper written by John Ragle, the “headmaster” or head of school who kindly if vainly offered me a place in a Vermont prep school when I made myself unwelcome at Governors. Ragle, Moody, Appleton, Jackson, Lowell, Governors, Bradford, you just never know what, and whom, you are going to meet when you journey into the past.

Lisa Bergman writes, “Hello friends, 2021 brought wonderful additions to my family. My oldest, Carl, married Cady in Arizona. As a bonus my first two grandchildren, Gabi, 8, and Aaron, 6. On November 7, my daughter, Dana, and her husband, Dana, had baby Leon. They are restoring a house in Beverly. My youngest, Jake, and his fiance, Alexandra are planning a December wedding in Florida. I’m looking forward to retirement and spending more time with them all. “ Okay, this is the news from the ole Groveland/ Georgetown/Haverhill connection. I spoke to Marc Weinshel, who hailed from south Massachusetts in our school days, and all is well with him in New Jersey. His commercial flooring business continues to thrive. He has been able to travel to Block Island and parts of Florida with Gayle. Although he hasn’t in a while, he has played golf with Jeff Ogden in NJ. Here’s a little trivia… Marc and I realized a few years ago that it wasn’t GDA where we first met. We actually were on both a competitive summer waterski circuit in Maine when we were 13. Michael Awkward, Professor of AfroAmerican Literature and Culture at the University of Michigan, presented to the Governor’s community on a webinar titled An Exploration into the Souls of Black Folks. It was an engaging conversation on the topics of race, racism, identity, and the joys and challenges of being Black and adolescent in past and present America. Let’s hear from the rest of you soon!

CLASS OF 1977 classnotes@govsacademy.org Joseph Pietrafesa: Happy New Year all. Navigating 20/21 was certainly fun. Even the Ponies were sidelined! Still was able to travel when needed and enjoyed a great summer in Vail. It’s getting a little crowded in Palm Beach but we are livin’ and lovin’ life, Florida Style. Will hopefully be in Byfield in June. Ciao! Elisa/Sam Adams: Well, hey everyone! Yup we have had a bang up couple of years, trying to figure out what we should do and not do. My chiropractic clinic has remained open throughout the pandemic. Initially I was limiting it to health care


workers with urgent matters, but as I figured out air flow, HEPA filters, UV light filter on the circulating air handler, doors and windows open and no more small talk, I felt more and more confident and continued working. So far no COVID... phew. We moved my 90 year old momma to my brother’s in Westport and they hunkered down for a year and 1/2. She is doing great. 91 and sharp as a tack. Walking 1–3 miles daily and read over 100 books during this pandemic! My art is really growing. In a gallery in Florida. And been having some commission work for major places in Boston, that I can still not talk about. HARUMPH I have been in over 100 exhibitions to date nationally and internationally. You can follow me on IG @ eadamsart if you like! Still making when the time is there. I also became the Prez of The New England Sculptors Association back in 2019 and am in my final year this year. I love it. I have met so many interesting people in the arts! My sweetie and I had our 25th anniversary of our commitment to each other, last year...not bad for the second time around. I heard a statistic that only 24% of second marriages work with both bringing kids into the picture. Well, I am happy to announce we are in that minority! We became grandparents again. Zora is 8 months old now. She and her parents (my stepson and daughter in law) are living in Seattle, where we spent X-mas together this year. All 10 of us from our blended family. Step daughter

and twin grandsons (18 yo) from Palo Alto, Daughter, Ariana from San Diego (her hubby had a COVID encounter and didn’t come) my momma (she always has a bag pack and is ready to travel ANYWHERE!) and my sister in law from Denver. It was 7 days of blissful “familiness.” Ariana has converted a short school bus to a mobile acupuncture clinic after she finished her PhD in acupuncture last year. IG @the. acu.bus It is amazing! Even though we are continually going through hard times, there are many silver linings and I keep looking to those to get me though. I hope you all are holding up well and are healthy.

CLASS OF 1978 M. Phil Graham chanter53@gmail.com Tom Driscoll drisclaw@yahoo.com Brad Clark rectoramc@gmail.com Alan Leahey: Good to hear from you. Kathy and I live in Vero Beach, FL and spend about 4 months in Saucon Valley, PA in the summer. I retired in 2019 and now doing some healthcare consulting (ophthalmology related) now and then. It’s fun having the time to spend with the three grandchildren. All three of our daughters are married. Our oldest, Kelly is Executive Director of Students and Academic Operations at Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies. Her husband is with EY and they live in Arlington, Va. They have a one-year old daughter. Colleen, our middle daughter lives in Larchmont,

NY and has two boys ages 2 and 1. Her first novel is being published by Harper Collins in June. It is called The Wild One by Colleen McKeegan. Her husband is with Franklin Templeton. Our youngest, Jennifer lives in Chicago and is an account executive at Linkedin. Her husband works for Facebook. Like most of you, COVID cancelled many trips we had planned. On the bright side, we had one daughter and her husband spend 6 months with us in FL so they could escape the Chicago winter. It was nice when the entire family got together for a week, because we all stayed together. Kathy and I are doing a golf trip in Ireland this summer. I keep in touch with John Webster and Jim Giampa but last few years it’s been tough to get together. Jim Slater and I have a mutual golf friend and hope to see each other this summer on the course. If any of you plan on going to the US Senior Open at Saucon Valley this summer, look me up. I will be there every day, all day, since I am chairman of all the course marshals. Should be a fun time. M Phil Graham: This last 7 months has seen lots of good opportunity at my work; I continue to enjoy the health care research that I train now more than anything. Enjoy working with the younger folks and picking up tech tips from them. Haven’t been to campus; got to get down there when the weather gets better. Maybe I’ll run into Peter Hey; he goes to Cardinal and White Day and other events to root on our teams. I’m sure Driscoll does as well. On a personal note, I am planning a trip out west with my sister, Elizabeth, for late May to see Oregon and N California, visit our aunt, go to Crater Lake and so on. Can’t wait—MUST take a few videos, see if I can edit them a bit and post, ha! All for now. Paul Cook: I will be back on the North Shore briefly in December but for an extended period in the summer and hope to see the gang very soon. In fact, Jenny and I are currently hunting about for a house to rent somewhere between Gloucester and Newburyport or to do a house exchange with some intrepid traveler from the area.

ABOVE: Luminosity, recent sculpture by Elisa Adams ’77; RIGHT: Elisa Adams ’77 with

Indominatable Spirit in Morges, Switzerland

Tom Mathews: Living the vita loca here! Took my mom to Italy for her 80th birthday in September (technically 81 by the time COVID let the trip finally happen). We did 16 days touring, eating, drinking (who knew they had wine!) all

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

65


over the country from South to North. Few tourists, everything open (with a CDC card) and spectacular weather. If you are comfortable, get out there now folks as less crowded touring is fabulous! We enjoyed that one so much we have booked a 2-week river cruise in Euro in April/May! Onward!!!! Still working in the wine shop as my retirement gig. Ask me for suggestions!

CLASS OF 1981 Kathryn Shilale kathryn@shilale.net

Keller Laros reports that all is well in Kona. Please stop by Jack’s Diving Locker and say hello.

B. Travel plans, past or future? (Now that we can venture a teensy bit farther from home, under certain stricter conditions.)

Clarissa Dane Hughes: Hello GDA—all is well with the Hughes crew. Cold winter in Florida LOL (it’s all relative).

C. GDA Friend sightings (Not just Will, I mean have you seen, hung out with or otherwise interacted with any GDA folk?)

Lisa Louden: My daughter Kasey is still waiting to hear from 6 colleges and I quit my job this week so the stress here is kinda high. We need a vacation! Maybe we will go to FL to visit the Hughes crew!

And finally, the big question. More of a command, really: DO YOU HAVE YOUR TRAVEL PLANS SET FOR JUNE 10–12 to BYFIELD????

Eric Adell says: All is well, kids are well, I am doing well. Not much excitement.

Jenny Graf: All is well in Newburyport! I am really enjoying teaching at two pottery studios in the area, and continue to create my own work and participate in local pottery shows. I had a wonderful visit this autumn with Susan Perry, her wife Kathryn, son Owen, and best-behaved pup ever, Charlie. I am thrilled that they are back in the area! I’m so hoping we will be able to have a reunion of some kind again this summer. Five years between reunions is too long!

CLASS OF 1982 Nancy Wickwire anwick@comcast.net I’m at it again. Happy pre-Valentine’s day and please take a minute as soon as you open this email and respond back right away. Here are some prompts: 1. Have you had or are you planning to have any joints replaced? 2. Are you done yet making college tuition payments or helping your kids make college tuition payments, or (Bobby Low) not yet started? 3. Do you make that groaning noise when you bend down to pick something up off the floor, or is that just me? HA! Here are some funner Prompts (Yes, spell check, “FUNNER” is a word. I just made it up. Relax): A. New Hobbies, old hobbies, what fun or enjoyable things/events/projects/social occasions are you enjoying lately?

ABOVE: Jenny Graf ’81 and Susan Perry ’81; RIGHT: Allison Montague, Heather Ryan, and Nancy Wickwire—class of 1982; FAR RIGHT:

Allison Montague, Heather Ryan, and Martha Krauch—Awesome stuff from 1982!

66

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022

It’s our 40th reunion. Yes, 40. (See questions 1 and 3 above) WHOOT WHOOT it will be a fun day or a fun weekend, depending on how far you are traveling to attend. Here’s the website thegovernorsacademy. org/alumni/reunion Nancy Wickwire: I’ll go first: 1. No joints replaced 2. No more tuition payments— Eddie completed his Strive U program in 2018 and Layla graduated from Boston University in 2020 (and then attended her commencement in 2021…Thanks, COVID). 3. I do make the groaning noise when bending. A & B: Family trip to Orlando in October and now looking forward to a visit to St. John USVI for a week the end of April, to snorkel hike & lounge with my husband Andy, who retired in June 2021! (and is now becoming an excellent cook…) Had a GREAT day with Heather Vickers Ryan, Alison Montague (who was the instigator of this get-together) and Martha Krauch in Newburyport in November. I will absolutely be at our reunion in June and hope to see lots of you there too. Maybe we’ll have 40 for the 40th? Here are other responses, in no particular order: John Nye writes: Work (auctions) is cranking, so there’s not time to hang out with classmates. The closest I’ve come to that is the text thread B-Low put together


with about eight of us. They usually come at the most inappropriate time, which puts an even bigger smile on my face. No new hobbies. No old hobbies. All work and no play makes John a dull boy. The 40th you say? How’d that happen? That should shake things up a bit. I’ll try. Thanks for sharing. BTW, we offer "Awesome Stuff from the Past" almost every month. Ha ha. Sally Degan: Very tempted to swing by for our 40th if I am in town. 1. Still holding off on a double knee replacement—low impact sports only now—which means almost no sports other than golf. 2. Looking forward to a new car in August— last tuition payment!! 3. Not only groaning but have a hard time putting on my socks. Funner—Headed to Streamsong—only golf addicts will appreciate this bucket list trip—cheered on the US at the Solheim Cup in happening Toledo this summer (you may have seen me on TV without knowing it—I’m in the cowboy hat)—looking forward to the US Open at Brookline this summer. If you have been interested in taking up golf—give me a call! Happy to take any and all out for “a good walk spoiled.” Kim Newby: Hello to all. That’s a great photo of Martha, Alison and Heather. Thanks for sharing. For events, yesterday was my birthday and wedding anniversary so that was both fun and eventful. James and I continue to live off grid on this remote island off the coast of midcoast Maine. It is a beautiful, wild environment that we enjoy and appreciate every day. For upcoming travel, we are training up for a mid-March, multi-night ski trip in northern Maine. James and I will cross-county ski with packs each day to our evening site. I haven’t done much skiing so it should be an adventure. Phil Parry: I still have all of my joints and limbs intact and functioning. I touch my toes by sitting in a chair and raising my knees to my chest. Much easier that way. I will confess that I am slower than I once was, but not by much. (Do I sound convincing?) Tuition payments—finished. Been there, done that. To those of you who are still making them, or haven’t started, I feel your pain. My youngest (Philip ’16) is the only one

of my children still in school (UNH FPC School of Law) and he’s on his own for paying for it. My wife and I are still hard at it in Merrimac. The one-mile commute from home to the office isn’t bad, but because we’re so close, we tend to spend too many hours there. Denise has been able to spend several weeks this winter working remotely from southwest Florida while I remain at home (one of us pretty much always has to be here). This winter I’ve been trying (pretty successfully in fact) to head north every other weekend to ride snowmobiles with my friends in the Great North Woods of NH, but I do intend to head to Florida in a few weeks for a reminder of what it feels like to be warm. Once the snow melts, my wife and I will spend weekends and random days in Lake Sunapee, NH through the fall. Anyone in that area for the summer? Call me and let’s get together. We always welcome drinking partners/ friends to socialize with. My wife and I did take a ten day trip to Portugal this fall, with a short jump to Spain, and we had a great time relaxing and being tourists. Our family is doing well (four children, one sonin-law, one granddaughter). Our second daughter just passed the Bar and works with us. I will be there for reunion weekend and look forward to seeing everyone. Bobby Low writes: Nancy is correct! With Cooper a 6th grader at Fenn (Tim Stetson’s alma mater?!) and Natalie a 9th grader at Holderness, I’ll be quite the crusty, cantankerous, old codger by the time college tuition bills subside. No knee replacements yet, but meniscus issues make hiking tricky. Two years ago while demonstrating a box-out/groundball drill at lacrosse practice against another (gargantuan) coach right out of college, I felt something pop. Not demo-ing that drill anymore. Dropped squash 7 yrs ago—too much pounding. Early am dog walks in conservation land woods essentially in my backyard help start the day. Any vertical hiking now entails ski pole usage. Stacey and I are still up to our eyeballs in youth hockey and lacrosse for Coop. He loves it all, so we happily oblige. Stacey has been working at Fenn as a leave replacement teacher. I hope you are all doing well these days! —Bob Demetri Vlahoulis: Hello my Fellow Govs, All is well out here in SoCal- Encinitas,CA.

I continue to enjoy my job and maintain a healthy balance of the work/play ratio. We lost our Pops (10 days shy of 91) last month to a short bout of cancer, so that was a good kick in the gut, but life must go on and the Vlahoulis Clan is dealing with the loss as best we can. Fortunately, I was able to fly back every month for a week or so every month since last June (21) to be with the family in Hampton, NH during this time. I can’t say I have any kids that I know of, but I am certainly enjoying being an Uncle to 9 wonderful nephews & nieces back in New England. The closest thing I have to a kid is my 2.5 year old Welsh Terrier Achilles, so he keeps me entertained. I do plan on coming back for the 40th, that will be hoot—can’t wait to see everyone. My joints and body are intact, despite numerous major injuries and several surgeries I am doing surprisingly well. Still surfing a lot, riding enduro dirt bikes in Tecate Baja Mexico, skiing up in Sierras and recently starting training jiujitsu (kinda like yoga with injuries every time you train). I plan on getting to Greece this summer to visit my extended family that still lives in Thessaly and Macedonia; I have a surf trip set for this April in Oaxaca Mexico, Santiago de Astata—the land of one the longest right hand sand bottom points breaks—over 300 yards! and superb mariscos, cervezas and mole (this is a yearly event, kinda like a golf trip with guides). See all ya in June—if you are out west give me a call, we can get a surf in and have cold beer after. Cheers, Demetri Trina Chiara: Hi everyone! So so great to hear from people! How does it seem more like maybe 20 years??? Thankfully we are all good here at my house! I rarely have big plans and wouldn’t you know that my niece’s wedding—which has been postponed twice due to COVID is right during our reunion. I can’t tell you how disappointed I am. I may try to hold a mini reunion at my place in CT at some point. We have one sophomore in college and an eighth grader! Love hearing from everyone!!!! Claire Danaher: Hello dear ones: Nance, great prompts! Here I go: 1. Foot surgery about 15 years ago, much better since then. I would love to have both thumb joints replaced, but my doc

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

67


3. I swear I popped my ACL sitting down the other day….

2. We just made our our last tuition payment in January!! Our youngest daughter, Eliza (21) graduates from UVM with a degree in nursing. She follows her two older sisters, Emily (26) and Charlotte (23) in this field. Go figure! Emily is a labor and delivery nurse at MGH and Charlotte is in the process of looking for a nursing job in the greater Boston area.

A. Spending a lot of time doing woodworking and having so much fun doing it. On Insta, I am clairedanaherwoodworking.

3. I am still teaching 3rd grade in Chelmsford and I love my job every day! Choosing teaching as a profession was one of the best decisions I ever made.

B. Going to Florida in March because this winter sucks, and going to Korea this summer because Rosie is obsessed with it.

4. I am planning to attend our reunion this June and I can’t wait to see others classmates! I had a lot of fun catching up with Nancy, Heather and Allison on Veterans Day in Newburyport. Watching the 4 of us try to figure out how to take a group selfie still makes me laugh out loud!

says that’s not a joint they’ve perfected yet, so I get to live with daily pain. 2. Phoebe is 24 and in grad school at Michigan and is almost done. Rose is in 11th grade and planning on a gap year so I’ve got some years of tuition yet ahead of me.

C. I think I’m the only Dummer in Michigan. If I’m not on a plane to Seoul that date, I will be at Reunion. And consider this: our going back to Byfield is the same as the class of 1942—these kids maybe went to Europe to fight after graduation!—returning when we were there. Wow. All the best to all of you, Claire Ted Larned: Hey GDA people, No plans to replace any joints. I wish that would fix my ailments, but no such luck. Not close to being done with tuition payments yet, though 2020 helped (didn’t have to pay for housing). Carter is a sophomore at Michigan State. Charlotte is a junior, so will (hopefully?) be adding to the tuition burden after next year. I don’t reach down to pick things up. Few things on the floor are worth the risk of falling over. I am enjoying keeping up with Carter’s adventures on campus and chasing around to Charlotte’s choir concerts and hearing about her stories teaching skiing at our local hill (Mulligan’s Hollow—Rope tows forever!!) Drove to Maine with Charlotte last June and planning to do it again this June with a stop in Byfield for the Reunion!! Though I am also in Michigan (West coast), I haven’t seen Claire. I haven’t seen anyone else either. Hope to see many of you in June. Best, Ted Martha Krauch: Hi Nance et al, 1. I did have hip replacement surgery in July. I am so much happier now that I did it!! Now I can get back to moving again!

68

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022

Daniel Geffin, via FACEBOOK: “Will try to be there!” (for Reunion) Andrew Page, also via Facebook: “Can’t make it. Getting married a few days before!” Andrew sent a nice photo of his “soon to be combined clan.”

CLASS OF 1983 Danielle Jacobs dljacobs@aol.com Cat Eveleth catmando_ent@msn.com Alex Crawley writes…Despite a bout of omicron, my hot water heater dying & bitter cold outside, I’m surviving Vermont’s winter...which is basically my goal every year. Hopefully I’ll be able to hike a few more mountains before mud season shows up. Adam Hirshfield: I’m opening a Boston Office for my firm YKLaw and actively recruiting Massachusetts attorneys. YK has a diverse, international practice, and we’re affiliated with China’s largest law firm. We three are spending this winter in Franklin as Julian is attending school in Foxborough. Marlene is teaching music to kids with autism at Berklee. We’re looking for a more permanent home in Norfolk County. Last fall I took Julian up to see the Academy and stopped at the Clam Box on the way home. As I can no longer eat tasty, heartkiller food, the boy partook of their bill of fare. Had a couple of long and interesting

Jeff Leavitt: Hey all you ’82ers, The years keep piling on and every major joint aches at some point in the day. No replacements yet but tomorrow’s another day. I did have a cataract removed last fall, just before Dan Geffin stopped by the dealership with his wife to say "hey." Was good to see them. My kids are all grown and into their own careers now, so no school payments. I am now up to 5, yes, 5 grandchildren (4 boys and a girl). Maybe I will have some youth hockey tuition to pay. REUNION…I will be there. Scott Holloway and I were talking about it yesterday and it sounds like he will be there too. I expect my Dad will be there too. He will be 80 in May. Still enjoying retirement up in Intervale, NH snowshoeing, mountain climbing and fly fishing. Looking forward to seeing everyone! It will be June before we know it… If you think time flies by when you have kids, wait till you have grand kids (mach 4) —Jeff

Aurora Rose French, granddaughter of Teresa Russo Cramphorn ’83


conversations with John Stahl. I’m going to try to get down to Rhode Island and visit when it warms up, if COVID abates and the creek don’t rise. Greg Menyhart: Both of my Florida born and raised kids are attending Suffolk University in Boston. My son Blake is graduating with a degree in Biology this coming May and my daughter Keely is currently a freshman studying Journalism. Both love New England and living in the city. Kevin Cryts: My granddaughter was born 4-3-21 and she is amazing. Camryn Eva. My daughter Abby and new mom is also a paralegal at a Law firm with run by a lawyer from Franklin, MA. My son Collan is a production technician at Ball Corp where I also work as a production control manager making 60mm sustainable aluminum cans a week for beverages in both North and Central America. I keep in touch with a few Govs through social media. Hope to see them and others soon but for now I am staying in warm VA where me and my wife of almost 30 years are enjoying the empty nest! From John Sylvain: My son is in his first year at The University of York in England! I spent a year making a trivia game and an online game show called You Know It that you can watch on YouTube. I’m having a great time teaching and writing.

And Elea Kemler: How do we have kids this old? Here is my update: My daughter Isabel is a freshman at UMass Amherst in the engineering department. (I am both delighted and utterly bewildered to have not one but two children who love the sciences and math. I don’t even understand the names of her classes!) I am in my 22nd year as the minister of the Unitarian Universalist church in Groton, MA and happily re-married almost four years ago. Teresa Russo Cramphorn welcomed a granddaughter, Aurora Rose French! 8 pounds 2 ounces, 22 inches on December 9, 2021 at 4:31 pm.

CLASS OF 1984 classnotes@govsacademy.org Kim Burgess: Greetings, TGA classmates. All is well in Hopkinton, NH. Our 16-yearold son, Cameron, will be working on his Eagle Scout Project this Spring: building a new foot bridge and re-decking and moving the old foot bridge to another location on

the well-traveled trail of the Hawthorne Town Forest. Best wishes to you all for a safe, healthy and happy 2022. Timothy Clark reports he had a great time catching up with Paul Bartholomew and his family in Austria!

CLASS OF 1987 Carla English carla_english@yahoo.com David Miller davidnowis@gmail.com Shawn Reeves writes in to share the news that he and Allison are adopting! Doug Crocker shares that he is doing well living in Chicago working in Data Logistics.

CLASS OF 1992 Jackie Hogan: Hello Great People! I returned home from Hawaii a while ago and live in Newburyport with my amazing family. My love for the beauty of this area holds strong. I finally went back to school to get my PhD in psychology. I’m older than the chair of my department and will be 50 when I get hooded and open my practice! Lucky me, I got to see my dear friends Cara Fineman, Amy Nicolo, and Dara

ABOVE: Cam (son of Kim Burgess ’84) with Daisy

at the bridge he’ll be replacing for his Eagle Scout Project; TOP RIGHT: Timothy Clark ’84 and Paul Bartholomew ’84 in Austria; BOTTOM RIGHT: Shawn Reeves ’87 and Alison Nash

Aengus (son of Jackie Hogan ’92) preparing his remarks!

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

69


Shain this summer. That’s my son Aengus preparing his remarks at the podium. We were slinking around campus with Dara’s family like old times :) I sincerely hope you and yours are well. I’m giving this pandemic two thumbs down and looking forward to brighter days.

CLASS OF 1993

CLASS OF 1995

Ingrid Cunney icunney@gmail.com

Michael Noon michaelcnoon@aol.com

Shawn Markey stmarkey58@yahoo.com

The Class of ’95 recognizes that this June marks thirty years since we lost friend and classmate Angel Talavera. He is remembered fondly, happily, yet still with sadness. He will always be missed.

Saundra Watson: Despite the pandemic, 2021 was a great year because I got married! In October, my husband and I were able to be joined by many family members and close friends to celebrate our union. I was joined by my besties from the class of 1992: Amy Daniels, Candice Denby, Danielle Dupre, Meghan Manzella and Tara (Ryan) McDermott. Cassie (Wickes) Firenze’s (1992) husband and son were also in attendance, which of course was very special for me.

CLASS OF 1996 Scotty Coulon scotty.coulon@gmail.com It is a beautiful and warm Super Bowl Sunday in San Diego....and as I sit here putting the class notes together, I am cautiously optimistic that we are very close to the end of the pandemic. Mask mandates will be ending soon, and after two years of reading people’s eyes; I look forward to the days of facial expressions coming back into play. I only heard back from a few people in our class, but I greatly hope that many of you are saving your stories for our Twenty Fifth-Sixth Reunion in Byfield in June! Jason Greenberg reports that the Greenberg Gang continues to grow: We are now a party of 5 with 3 girls!! Even my dog is a girl. Outnumbered but love every moment of it. Moved out of NYC and have been in Westport, CT the past 6 years. Been working at ESPN the past 19 years covering NBA, College Football, College Basketball in remote production.

TOP: Guy and Saundra (Watson) Paupaw ’93; MIDDLE: L to R: Kate (Manzella) Mayhook ’96,

Danielle Dupre ’92, Saundra (Watson) Paupaw ’93, Amy Daniels ’92, Meghan Manzella ’92, Nico Firenze, Tara (Ryan) McDermott ’92, and Candice Denby ’92; BOTTOM: L to R: Meghan Manzella, Tara (Ryan) McDermott, Danielle Dupre, Amy Daniels, Candice Denby, all class of 1992, at the wedding of Saundra (Watson) Paupaw ’93

70

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022

TOP: Jackie Hogan ’92 and Dara Shain ’92; BOTTOM: Nico & Angelo Firenze (son & spouse of

Cassie (Wickes) Firenze ’92)

Jason Greenberg ’96 and his growing family


Michael Silverio took over a new territory at LPL Financial that includes New England. So he hopes to be up and around campus once he has a travel budget at work.

CLASS OF 2001

I also heard back from Lauren Fitzgerald: I’m living in Topsfield with husband Brian and our Bernese Mountain Dog, Bodie. I’m Vice President of the Board at the Ipswich River Watershed Association. I spend my time hanging around in all the great places on Cape Ann and the North Shore.

Since our last update, I’ve found myself on six flights, with five of those being crosscountry trips. Pretty nuts considering prior to that first trip in July, I hadn’t been on a plane since March of 2020. I think there’s a metaphor in there somewhere, but I also went back to work in November after six months of maternity leave and my brain hasn’t been right since (joking, not joking). Feels like no matter what, I’m constantly on the move these days, chasing around a toddler and an almost 1-year old, but we’re having a blast even if we’re short on sleep and fuzzy on the rest of it. Not alone though, as it seems like there’s a lot of us taking on adventures these days!

And I guess that just leaves me for now. I recently received some great news that Camp Reach for the Sky and Camp Casco will resume in-person this summer. I am a Volunteer Director/Counselor at both of these camps, which are for children whose lives have been impacted by cancer. CR4TS is out here in San Diego, and Casco will be taking place in Groton, MA this summer. In the camp world I am known as “Guvnah.” So, I’m super happy that I will get this piece of my life back, and I’m even happier for all of the kids who will be able to see their camp friends once again! I am also currently training for my 16th Marathon, which I’m running with my brother in Oakland in March. Looking forward to seeing everyone back in Byfield in June for the combined Reunion for the classes of 95, 96, and 97. I think it’s great that the school is giving us this unique opportunity to come together!

Caitlin Haire caitlin.haire@outlook.com

my desk with pencils during the pandemic wasn’t cutting it anymore! I restored a 1996 Tama kit which was an amazing experience

Maria (Moore) Erikson writes, “We welcomed a little lady, June, into our family in August! The last six months have flown by, but our hearts could not be fuller!!!” She sends her wishes that everyone is doing well and having a great start to the year. With the most rocking update this time around, Ande Tagliamonte, started playing the drums in 2021, "…Drumming on

CLASS OF 2000 Catherine Correia catherine.correia@gmail.com Eve Seamans eve.seamans@gmail.com Cassie Depratto Nutt shares: I enjoyed connecting virtually at the reunion in 2021 with Catherine Correia, Bettina Romberg and Eve Seamans. I hope they consider making virtual attendance a regular feature for future reunions for those of us that might not be able to make it in person! We added to our family last fall! Adie (11), Marty (9), Catie (7), Macky (4), Ellie. If you are in the Montreal or Ottawa area, we’d love a visit!! Wishing everyone a healthy year with family and friends!!

ABOVE, TOP: Ande Tagliamonte ’01 rocking the drums; ABOVE, BOTTOM: Maria (Moore) Erikson ’01 added baby June to her family; BOTTOM LEFT: Cassie Depratto Nutt ’00 and her beautiful family

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

71


within itself!! P.S. I’ve had that Beck poster since I lived in Moody House! Love to you and yours!" Bernie Christopher shares that he has been the lead Architect and working on the biggest construction project in Boston at Logan airport for the past four years. “It’s been a bit crazy during the pandemic working from home, especially since my wife Cassie and I had our first kid in March of 2020. I can only share stuff that is public information about the project. But it’s pretty cool; it’s a big expansion to the international terminal.” You can find more info on the project here: massport. com/logan-forward/initiatives/terminal-emodernization/ Sadly, we did lose two classmates as well, Leuvis Olivero and Joe Levitt. It’s been truly heartbreaking and the outpouring of love and support, not from just our class but across the Academy, is a wonderful testament to them both. They’ll always have a place in our hearts and most certainly in our fondest memories.

for just a quick hello! In the meantime, I enjoyed a nice visit at our home in Chappaqua, NY with Angela Martone and her beautiful family of five in August. Pizza and laughs were had by all! In October, my family got to spend the day with Jyllian Schwarz and her family up in MA. Cider, s’mores, and a fire pit made simply being together that much sweeter.

individuals with all of their writing needs, from company memos, social media, and website content, to resumes, cover letters, and admissions essays. I would love to work with Govs alums, so please reach out if you would like to connect!

Rachelle (Dennis) Borer: My husband Jon and I are still enjoying city life in Manhattan with our 5-year-old daughter Izzy and 1-year-old son Owen. Heather Jameson-Lyons ’02 and I finally got together last summer after almost two years apart, during which time we both welcomed new babies! Professionally, I have become a writing and editing consultant. I help businesses and

Love (and hugs) to you all : )

CLASS OF 2002 classnotes@govsacademy.org Rachel Grossman: I can’t wait to see our class at our 20th (!) reunion in June! This is my plug to encourage you all to come—even

ABOVE: Leuvis Olivero ’01 and Joe Levitt ’01 at

GDA graduation. Forever in our hearts.

72

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022

ABOVE, TOP: Rachelle (Dennis) Borer ’02 and Heather Jameson-Lyons ’02 with their babies Lily and Owen ABOVE, BOTTOM: Enjoying a warm October afternoon with Jyllian Schwarz ’02 and Rachel Grossman ’02 LEFT, TOP: Rachelle (Dennis) Borer ’02 with her husband Jon, daughter Izzy, and son Owen in Central Park. LEFT, BOTTOM: Angela Martone ’02, Rachel Grossman ’02 and all of their children


CLASS OF 2003 Taso Kapernekas tkap07@gmail.com Hi everyone and thank you for taking time out from learning the Greek alphabet to provide me with updates on your lives! We have some great updates and I’m really happy I get to share with you all. Stay healthy and have a fantastic ’22! Michael Oxton has been spending lots of quality time in Wayland this past year with Samantha, Ben (5), and Hazel (2).

Celebrating 10 years of Night Shift Brewing this coming March—my brother Tim ’08 is still crushing it on the marketing team. Got a labradoodle, Alfie, who just turned one and keeps us extra busy. John Leonard got married August 28th 2021 on Peaks Island to Mary Kate. Jackson ’01 and Gardiner ’05 Parker were groomsmen. Judah Thissell has been enjoying life in Boston despite the pandemic. He is living in The South End with his wife, Shin, two boys, Ren (9) and Everest (5), and his daughter Selah (3). “We take frequent trips to the Berkshires to visit my mother and to enjoy the outdoors. When we’re home, we enjoy family dance parties, karaoke, yoga practice, and game nights. Ren and Everest are going to a bilingual public school so they are learning Spanish there and some Korean at home. Here’s wishing all of you a happy and healthy 2022!” Taso Kapernekas has been spending all his time with his wife Carolyn and son George (2). He was able to see a couple of alums Jon Weiss, Morgan Steir, Chris Kelley, and Brandon Bates as well as their wives and beautiful children.

CLASS OF 2004 Leslie Clunie leslie.clunie@gmail.com Jackie Meinardt shares that her parents Jack and Rita hosted a mini-reunion that included Rob and Samantha Howson,

ABOVE (2 PHOTOS): Judah Thissell ’03 enjoying time

with his family

LEFT, TOP: John Leonard ’03 and his wife Mary Kate; LEFT, BOTTOM: Michael Oxton ’03 with his family; ABOVE: Taso Kapernekas ’03 all smiles with his family (and son George, astronaut in training)

ABOVE: Jessica Long ’04 at Enchant Christmas

in DC

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

73


Danielle and Scott Kingsbury, Leslie Ward Fothergill ’08 and her husband, Adam, Jackie’s wife, Katie, and children Camden and Bennett. Quite the good looking group! Jessica Long writes in that she is now in DC completing a fellowship in pediatric and adolescent gynecology through the NIH and the Children’s National Hospital.

CLASS OF 2008 Abby Shaffo abigail.shaffo@gmail.com Hello 2022! Tommy Durkin reports, “my wife Abbey and I are living in Charlestown, MA—a hotbed for Govs alumni, so find ourselves in good company here. We have a 1.5 year old boy named Hank who is an absolute rock star—running, talking/ babbling nonsense and definitely keeping us on our toes!” Decia Splaine, who recently skied Attitash with fellow alumni Chelsea Barnett and Matt Kotzen, shares, “this past fall I decided to step away from my interior design company, but am still in the area

AND still in interior design! I’m working for a designer in Newburyport (Ivory & Bone Interiors) and I look forward to continuing to connect with clients and designing their dream homes/spaces! If anyone is looking for an interior designer, hit me up!” Go Decia!

CLASS OF 2009

Mike Kenny wants the Govs world to know that Chris “Bonesaw” Barrand will be marrying Eva Lauer this June! Congrats Chris!

Jimmy King jamesmking41@gmail.com

My husband John and I (Abby Shaffo) welcomed baby George to our family this December and we’re loving new parenthood! George spent the first two months of his life in San Diego, where he got to hang out with his uncle and aunt, Jack ’10 and Lily ’17, and his OG roommate, Charlotte DiMaggio. In February we moved to Newport, Rhode Island and we’re looking forward to connecting with some Govs friends while we’re back east! Stay warm and well, Govs family :).

LEFT, TOP: L to R: Rob Howson, Scott and Danielle

Kingsbury, Samantha Howson, Leslie Ward Fothergill ’08, Adam Fothergill, Jack and Rita Ward P’04,’08, Katie Meinhardt, Jackie Ward Meinhardt ’04, big brother Camden and baby Bennett; LEFT, BOTTOM: Decia Splaine ’08 and Chelsea Barnett ’08 skiing in Attitash; ABOVE: Abby ’08 and John Shaffo’s newborn son, George Alexander; RIGHT, TOP: Laura Beohner’s twin daughters, Zoey and Brooke; RIGHT, BOTTOM: Madalyn (Durgin) McClelland ’09 and her daughter, Anna

74

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022

Hannah Hines hannah.f.hines@gmail.com Amanda Correnti a.corrents@gmail.com

Hello all!! Happy 2022. Hope everyone is having a great start to the new year. Some fun updates from class of 2009! Erin Quinlan writes, “This past year, I have been enjoying traveling. I lived in a van with my childhood friend and traveled around California and of course we stopped and visited Priscilla Somogie, my best friend from Govs. I also went out west to hike a bit. More recently, I went down to Tulum to celebrate Priscilla’s birthday! It was a


goddess retreat in the jungle on the Tulum beach and it was incredible. When I wasn’t traveling, I was working at Boston Children’s Hospital as a Behavioral Health Consultant and Integrative Health Practitioner. I am so grateful for the adventures I had this year and I am looking forward to more!” Coby Newton has been living in Hollywood for the last 3 years after relocating from NorCal. Working for Milk Bar, and still listening to Dispatch every day. Patrick Harper is currently living in South Boston with his girlfriend Kelly and their 7-month-old puppy, Colby! He is one of the managers at Capo Restaurant but is excited to start a new career in cybersecurity sales this spring. Madalyn (Durgin) McClelland welcomed

a baby girl Anna James McClelland into the world on August 27, 2021! Linley Block moved to Boca Raton Florida and works for the company Chewy! Her sister Becca Block was chosen to represent USA Womens lacrosse in the World Cup this summer 2022! Go Becca!! Laura Beohner and her fiancé Zachery McInnis welcomed two healthy twin girls, Zoey and Brooke, in November 2021. Laura and Zach also celebrated the 5-year anniversary of their local Newburyport business, The Healing Rose Company. You can find Laura on campus this spring coaching varsity softball and next winter coaching girls’ basketball. Jenika Smith is in her eighth year teaching high school social studies at IMG Academy, a boarding school in Tampa Bay, FL. She recently gained a leadership position as the Professional Development Liaison and is the faculty advisor for the Model UN team which will be competing in New York City this March. She and her partner live near the beach with their two rescue dogs and are living the #saltlife. Lisa Hoopes is a practicing nutritionist, and runs her business Hoopes Health to help people achieve better health through eating well. She also works for a technology company focused on crop health, and oversees the software department to bring the company’s biological solutions to farmers. The best part, she’s able to do this all from her sailboat while she and her partner focus on refitting it for future travel and ocean

passages!! Bryce Johnson celebrates two years of marriage with his wife (Kelsey) in March. They live in San Antonio with their two dogs Harper & Nori. Huge congrats to Brian Durkin who married Meg (O'Connor) Durkin ’12 last May 2021, and Ryan Moores who is engaged and excited to be getting married in April 2022 in Maine. And lastly, Dan Hines and I are coming up on 3 years of marriage and loving life with our son Oliver (born 1/14/21). Wishing everyone a happy and healthy year! Best, Hannah Hines

CLASS OF 2011 Katie Reilly katiemacreilly@gmail.com Nora Kline nora.k.kline52@gmail.com Alex Carpenter, a member of the U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team, is competing at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Go Team USA! Skylar Frisch is now officially Skylar Kline! She got married this past October amongst several friends from Govs (see picture). Hannah Rochman is engaged! She is in her final year of her nurse practitioner program and plans to get married in 2023. As for us, Nora Kline got engaged this past fall! She will get married this upcoming September in Boston. Katie Reilly is a reporter for TIME magazine in New York City.

ABOVE: L to R: Mike DiFrancesco ’10, Victoria TOP: Becca Block ’09, Team USA; BOTTOM: Hanna and Dan Hines ’09 with their son, Oliver; RIGHT:

Erin Quinlan ’09 and Priscilla Somogie ’09 in Tulum

Caruso ’11, Chrissy Toomey ’11, Nora Kline ’11, Hannah Rochman ’11, the bride Skylar Frisch ’11, Haley Gould ’11, Claire Lilly ’11, Michelle Gallipeau ’11 (photo by Genevieve de Manio)

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

75


CLASS OF 2014 Emilie MacDonald emiliemac95@gmail.com Lucy Purinton lcpurinton@gmail.com Jessica Titus is celebrating her third year at Jobcase as a software engineer. She also bought a house in April and recently finished renovating it! Colby King is currently teaching second grade in Lynn, Massachusetts and is newly engaged! Katie Quimby celebrated her marriage to Reinaldo Feliciano in 2021.

CLASS OF 2016 Samara Gallagher samarajgallagher@gmail.com Samara Gallagher: I graduated RPI in 2020 and 2021 with a B.S. and M.S. in mechanical engineering. In my last year at

TOP: Katie Quimby Feliciano ’14 and special guests at her wedding; ABOVE & RIGHT: Luke Moriarty ’19 and Kyle Gaffey ’19

76

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022

RPI, I joined the cross-country and track teams and I currently work and reside in Boston, MA. I am so excited to share that I have been selected to run the 126th Boston Marathon on April 18, 2022 on behalf of the Bill Belichick Foundation, which supports mainly football and lacrosse student athletes and youth programs! “The Bill Belichick Foundation aims to provide coaching, mentorship, and financial support to individuals, communities, and organizations. Focusing on football and lacrosse, its mission is to bring the values of the Belichick family—a love of sports, coaching and team building—to the athletic leaders of tomorrow.” I am extremely lucky to have amazing parents that share these same values and supported my siblings and me in athletics as we grew up (including lacrosse for all 3 of us and football for my brother), along with coaches and teammates at Govs because they know important life skills— teamwork, commitment, leadership, and time management, to name a few—are developed through sports. I realize though that there are many people that did not have the same opportunities I did, and I’m

honored to be running and fundraising for the Bill Belichick Foundation so others can experience the same joys.

CLASS OF 2019 classnotes@govsacademy.org Kyle Gaffey is a junior lacrosse goalie at Rochester Institute of Technology where he studies Packaging Engineering. The Tigers won their first ever NCAA National Championship in school history. Alex DiBlasi is a current student at Boston College and is the founder of FinTech company MDFiTech. MDFiTech provides investors an opportunity to generate returns uncorrelated to market conditions, with an emphasis on capital preservation and risk avoidance. By taking market neutral positions using a combination of equities and derivatives, the firm can ensure the preservation of invested capital while generating return on mis-priced derivatives at scale. The unique value proposition provided by our firm is a proprietary algorithmic trading system that automates our research, trade execution and portfolio management processes. For more information, please contact diblasal@bc.edu.

ABOVE: Alex DiBlasi ’19


In Memoriam In each issue of The Archon we honor those community members who have passed since the previous publication (or for whom we have received notification of passing). The death date of those alumni, faculty, and staff who have passed are listed here. Full obituaries are posted on our website at thegovernorsacademy.org/inmemoriam.

1942

1948:

1973:

Richard W. Lutts

George W. Bender

John “Jay” Bethel

December 13, 2021

October 17, 2020

December 6, 2019

Allen Howland Cummings, Sr

1944: Samuel Finlay

2001: Joseph Levitt

September 14, 2021

September 17, 2021 George Pollin

November 26, 2021

1949:

Leuvis Olivero Dana H. Getchell

August 6, 2021

October 10, 2021

November 29, 2021

1945: Lon Homeier

2005:

1954:

Colin O’Rourke John M. Perrigo

February 23, 2022

October 11, 2021

September 8, 2021

1947:

Haskell Emery Smith Rhett

Peter Kingsford Bellamy

January 7, 2022

December 13, 2021 Charles Benson Birdsall

November 22, 2021

David R. Gosse, Faculty Emeritus February 22, 2022

1959: David A. Latham, Jr.

April 25, 2021 Daniel Manson Hall

FORMER FACULTY:

November 21, 2021

1962: Charles F. Pyne

Edgar A. Movsesian

December 21, 2021

January 12, 2022

1968: Roy Thomas Jacobs II December 19, 2021

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

77


Tributes David R. Gosse (1935–2022) Faculty Emeritus David R. Gosse, resident of Topsham, formerly of Ipswich, Massachusetts., passed away on February 22, 2022 at his home in Topsham at the age of 86 years. David was born on June 12, 1935 to William Gosse and Victoria MacKeil in Lynn, Massachusetts. He graduated from Lynn English High School in 1954 and Bowdoin College in 1958. He continued his education, after serving in the U.S. Army’s Air Defense Command, at Wesleyan University, where he received his master’s degree in mathematics. He also attended the University of Michigan and Boston University. He was a devoted teacher of mathematics at Hamilton Wenham High School, Governor Dummer Academy, and Triton Regional High School. He was a member of the Ipswich Bay Yacht Club, Hochgebirge Ski Club, an avid fly fisherman, sailor, skier, outdoorsman, and world traveler. He is survived by his loving wife of 62 years, Janice Gosse; his son Bryan Gosse, daughter Sarah Dresser; his four grandchildren, Kaitlin, Palmer, Erin, and Sadie; and four great-grandchildren.

78

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022


Haskell Emery Smith Rhett ’54 (1936–2022) Trustee Emeritus Haskell Emery Smith Rhett, 85, died peacefully at home on January 7, 2022, in Afton, Virginia. Dr. Rhett was President Emeritus of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation (now The Institute for Citizens & Scholars). Born in Evanston, Illinois, in 1936 to Eunice Campbell Rhett (Emery) and Haskell Smith Rhett, he grew up in Long Beach, Indiana, and attended The Governor’s Academy in Massachusetts on a full scholarship. He earned a BA in English at Hamilton College. Upon graduation, he served as a Naval Flight Officer, flying A-3s off of the USS Forrestal. In 1961, he married his first wife, Roberta Teel Oliver, with whom he had two children, Kathryn Emery Rhett and Cecily Coffin Rhett. After his naval service, Dr. Rhett was Assistant Dean of Admissions for Hamilton College before earning his Ph.D. in philosophy at Cornell University, and servec as a fellow at the London Institute for Education. In 1970, he became Director of Program Development at the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, New Jersey. A champion of equitable education for all, in 1973 he became Assistant Chancellor of Higher Education for the State of New Jersey, and then, in 1985, Vice President for the College Board. In 1990, he assumed the role of President of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. A trustee of The Governor’s Academy and Dominican University of California, he also served as chair of the board of trustees of The College of New Jersey. He was on the board of directors for the Trenton After School Program, and a facilitator for the nation’s longest-running career transition group, JobSeekers. He held fellowships at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and held the Eliot-Winant Fellowship to lecture at British universities. Dr. Rhett was an avid sailor, crewing on the Newport Bermuda Race, and a competitive tennis player. A longtime member of Trinity Church, in Princeton, New Jersey, he served as senior warden and three-time vestryman.

Their love of nature, and Janet’s work as a United Airlines captain, led them to live in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, near Dulles International Airport. They traveled the world together, including Antarctica. He is survived by his wife, his two daughters, son-in-law Brian N. Sawyer, and grandchildren Cade Emery Leebron, Jacob Rhett Leebron, Benjamin Harvey Leebron, and Josephine Rhett Sawyer. In his final years, Dr. Rhett appreciated the friendship of his home health aide Ray Robinson. Friends and family will miss his inimitable sense of style, quick wit, and wise counsel.

While in New Jersey, he met his beloved wife of the past 25 years, Janet Lee Rollings. Devoted supporters of the U.S. Olympic Rowing Team, they housed athletes and coaches in their home during training at Princeton’s Carnegie Lake.

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

79


Pitcher/Shortstop Claire Stone ’22 of Ipswich, Massachusetts, running up the baseline after connecting with the ball.

80

THE ARCHON

|

SPRING 2022


Faculty Profile Bert McLain P’07,’09 Bert McLain is the quintessential boarding school person: masterful teacher, dorm head, accomplished coach, and program director. Whether introducing ninth-grade students to biology or teaching Advanced Placement Psychology to seniors, Bert’s classes are dynamic, relevant, and rigorous. Don’t like science? You haven’t had Bert yet! She is passionate about communicating science to the layperson, and she reaches all levels of learners, instilling in them her own enthusiasm for science and learning. During the pandemic, Bert deftly “translated” data and the science behind the virus to colleagues, friends, and students. In fact, Bert is so committed to science communication that last year, she began a Masters in Science Writing from Johns Hopkins University. Throughout her career at Govs, Bert’s motto remains, “I’ll do whatever is best for the school.” After being out of the dorm for eight years, she and her husband Rod moved back in and she now serves as the dorm head in Doggett. Not only does she serve as a role model to the Doggett residents, she also brings years of experience, a listening ear, and institutional wisdom. She also brings a

How many years at the Academy? 24 Responsibilities/Duties Science teacher. Head coach of girls varsity lacrosse, Catalyst, and a dorm head. Favorite Books Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari; The Body; A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson; Survival of the Sickest by Sharon

quick sense of humor and lots of good snacks! Bert is always willing to show up and fill in. This year she took the helm of the Catalyst program, matching Govs students with summer internships in the sciences. When a student expressed an interest in beekeeping several years ago, Bert stepped in as the faculty advisor. More than five years later, Bert has become a local expert in beekeeping, maintaining the school’s hives, explaining the importance of bees to our ecosystem, and even providing honey to the community! We’ve all reaped the benefits of “Bert’s Bees!” Her teaching and leadership reach well beyond the classroom walls. In her twenty-four years at Govs, she’s coached soccer, hockey, and lacrosse. Bert served as the director of athletics and afternoon programs for nineteen years. An accomplished coach, Bert was inducted into the Massachusetts and New England Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Even in the realm of athletics, she’s modeled a commitment to learning, recently earning scuba diving certification and certification as a Crossfit coach! She continues to compete in (and win!) kayaking competitions throughout New England. Never one to draw attention

Maolem; Anything by Mary Roach or Bill Bryson for that matter. Anything science nonfiction in the life sciences. Favorite Music or Artist I enjoy a wide range! Activities and Interests Scuba diving, Crossfit, paddling and competitive kayaking, sketching, reading, coaching, cooking, and beekeeping

to herself, Bert has a lot to brag about, but that’s the last thing she’ll do! Anyone who knows Bert knows about her love for her family and pets. Her husband Rod serves as the AP World History teacher in the history department, and both her daughter Alex ’07 and son Andrew’ 09 were married last summer. The McLains share their Doggett home and their summer Maine house with their rescue dog Boazy; two cats, Sasha and Landfill; and most notably, their pig Haru! Karen Gold P’11,’17 Academic Dean & English Teacher

Passions My family, all animals, traveling, scuba diving Education Degrees BS from Union College; MS from University of New Hampshire; (working towards a Masters in Science Writing from Johns Hopkins University) Photo credit: David Oxton P’03,’08

SPRING 2022

|

THE ARCHON

81


T HE GOVERNOR’S ACA D EM Y BYF IELD, MA 01922

JOIN US:

Beginning in May 2022 and culminating at Reunion 2023, the entire Govs community is invited to join us for a year of events, programs, and stories in honor of this important milestone, and in celebration of the diverse community of students and graduates that has since followed.

50 Years of Women at Govs: Reflecting Together on Our Byfield Experiences

Scan the QR code to learn more:

Tuesday, May 17, 2022 7:00 p.m. ET Virtual Event To register, visit: thegovernorsacademy.org/ about/50yearsofwomenatgovs


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.