The Lawrentian Summer 2018

Lawrentian SUMMER 2018

THE

22 HEY, ABBOTT! COVER SPRING 2018 4.indd 3

14 LEAPING TO THE TOP

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FEATURES

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22 22 Abbott Reopens, Renewed and Resplendent The design of the transformed dining hall evokes memories of classic Lawrenceville construction.

On the Cover: Alumni Weekend 2018!

Illustration by

28 Alumni Weekend 2018

3 FROM THE BASEMENT OF POP HALL 4 A THOUSAND WORDS Alumni memories weren’t ’stached away during Alumni Weekend 2018.

6 NEWS IN BRIEF Spacing out with an astronaut, Another title for track, Athletic complex good enough to eat?

More than 1,400 Lawrentians proved you can go home again.

Aldo Crusher

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TAKE THIS JOB AND LOVE IT

10 ON THE ARTS SDC shows dance is timeless, Alumni art showcased, Composers return to campus.

12 SPORTS ROUNDUP 14 GO BIG RED! Track and field was all new to speedy William Murray ’21, who leapt to the top.

16 TAKE THIS JOB AND LOVE IT

16 ON THE ARTS

Emma McClendon ’05 brings much-needed context to the history of fashion.

18 TABLE TALK Q&A with history master Timothy Doyle ’69 H’79 P’99

20 ASK THE ARCHIVIST Immortalized in film, William Howard Stovall was an original hero fighter pilot.

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BY THE NUMBERS 34 CLASS NOTES

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80 TIME WAS… 81 STUDENT SNAP

KEEP UP WITH LAWRENCEVILLE EVERY DAY! YOU CAN FOLLOW MORE THAN 25 LAWRENCEVILLE SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS! GET CONNECTED TO ALL OF THEM AT HTTP://BIT.LY/SMDIRECT.

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FROM THE HEAD MASTER REFLECTION FOR THE CLASS OF 2018

W

e awoke Sunday morning of graduation weekend to a torrential downpour, flooding parking lots and dashing hopes for a ceremony in the Bowl. Our Facilities Management

team moved mountains to pull off a remarkably successful event in the field house. If rain is a harbinger of good luck on

The tricks and

a wedding day, I think we can extend that to graduations.

And, if the quantity portends the amount of good luck in

deceptions of the world

store, it was indeed an auspicious day. I share here my words

can gnaw away at our

of welcome to members of the Class of 2018, their families,

optimism; with time, idealism can turn to pragmatism, and pragmatism can turn to cynicism. Resist these tendencies. Hold on to your beliefs and your hopes for a better world.

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and the faculty.

It is tempting at such a moment as this to remind you, the graduating class, of your responsibilities ahead: that the world is increasingly in a state of chaos; that governments aren’t governing; that climate change is spinning out of control; and that you need to hurry up and graduate and get out there with your Harkness skills and your Lawrenceville values to get things back on track.

Instead, as I say a few brief words to welcome you to this ceremony, I find myself wanting to offer a somewhat different message. One of my favorite books of my childhood is The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, a touching portrait of youth and coming of age. The novel is set in backwoods, rural Florida, one hundred years ago, and centers on a boy and his parents as they scratch a hardscrabble living out of very unforgiving, swampy scrubland.

The boy’s father, Penny, pauses at one point in the book to consider punishing his son for leaving his chores unfinished and spending a spring afternoon by the river.

He’d have been punished as a boy for idling, and there was endless work needing to be done just to feed the family.

“But that’s it,” he thought. “A boy ain’t a boy too long.”

Penny’s reflection is true – youth is brief; he knows his son will experience soon enough the harsh, unrelenting

struggle of rural life. He will lose his innocence and become hardened by the realities he will encounter. The world doesn’t allow you to linger in your adolescence. Like it or not, you will all grow up quickly and begin to face challenges.

One way or another, you will all head out to confront problems in the world. Those problems out there are not going away, and Lawrenceville has given you the tools and the desire to make a difference. But my thought for you this morning, my word of encouragement, is to slow down for a moment and find a way to hold on in some way to your youthful perspective.

The tricks and deceptions of the world can gnaw away at our optimism; with time, idealism can turn to pragmatism, and pragmatism can turn to cynicism.

Resist these tendencies. Hold on to your beliefs and your hopes for a better world. Young people naturally are given such a mindset – hold on to yours. For all its disappointments, the world is full of wonders; keep the faith – there is much that is good out there.

As you go, take with you the good that you have found here at Lawrenceville and that has now become part of who you are. The world sorely needs idealists and optimists who, as our mission statement says, will live lives of “higher purpose” and who “seek the best for all.”

And of course, in the midst of making the world a better place, there will be days when you feel the urge to leave your chores unfinished and spend a spring afternoon by the river. You won’t be able to follow those urges every time, but even as you grow old, be sure to follow those youthful instincts occasionally. You’ll find it’s good for the soul.

Sincerely,

Stephen S. Murray H’55 ’65 ’16 P’16 ’21 The Shelby Cullom Davis ’26 Head Master

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THE LAWRENTIAN SPRING 2018 VOLUME 82 | NUMBER 3 PUBLISHER Jennifer Szwalek

FROM THE BASEMENT OF POP HALL

EDITOR Sean Ramsden ART DIRECTOR Phyllis Lerner STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Paloma Torres

PROOFREADERS Rob Reinalda ’76 Linda Hlavacek Silver H’59 ’61 ’62 ’63 ’64 GP’06 ’08

CONTRIBUTORS Tracey Allen Shriya Annamaaneni ’20 Aldo Crusher Andrea Fereshteh Lisa M. Gillard Hanson Jacqueline Haun Barbara Horn Joel Kimmel Avigna Ramachandran ’21 Selena Smith

The Lawrentian (USPS #306-700) is published quarterly (winter, spring, summer, and fall)

by The Lawrenceville School, P.O. Box 6008, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648, for alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends.

Periodical postage paid at Trenton, NJ, and additional mailing offices.

The Lawrentian welcomes letters from readers.

Please send all correspondence to sramsden@ lawrenceville.org or to the above address, care of The Lawrentian Editor. Letters may be edited for publication.

The Lawrentian welcomes submissions and suggestions for magazine departments. If you have an idea for a feature story, please query first to The Lawrentian Editor.

Visit us on the web at www.lawrenceville.org. www.lawrenceville.org/alumni/the-lawrentian

POSTMASTER Please send address corrections to: The Lawrentian The Lawrenceville School P.O. Box 6008 Lawrenceville, NJ 08648

I

t’s hard not to get a little caught up in the workings of Alumni Weekend. The color and the camaraderie appeal effortlessly to our senses, as do the fun, familiar traditions that come alive for those three days in May. Seeing members of the 50th reunion class, resplendent in their red-and-black-striped School blazers, can’t help but make you smile.

At times, however, this annual homecoming also speaks to our more visceral sentiments.

Inside Edith Memorial Chapel, you can feel the emotion welling for fallen classmates as the thunderous strains of Triumphant Lawrence erupt from the organ pipes during the Service of Remembrance. Just outside the chapel doors, at nearly the very same time, hundreds of soon-to-be graduates are welcomed into the School’s Alumni Association with a pinning ceremony on the Circle. Both events signal transitions, evidence of the rhythmic passage of time that moves all whose lives become part of the Lawrenceville narrative.

This connectedness became more evident to me this year, watching the generations of alumni intermingle, even with current students, who – rather fortunately – remain on campus throughout the weekend. Alumni Weekend gives our students a chance to see themselves more fully in the reflection of the past, and it’s a pleasure to see those returning Lawrentians embrace them in turn.

Once those students leave Lawrenceville, they’ll set off on journeys that can and will take them just about anywhere. Upon their return, in the years to come, each one will have an original story about the road they took back here. And if the editor of The Lawrentian is lucky, they will even have photos of them traveling that route – literally. As you’ll see below, alumni like Gregg Rosner ’78 are determined to make it back for reunions one way or another.

We’re always glad they do.

All the best,

Sean Ramsden Editor sramsden@lawrenceville.org With his 1970s Big Red equipment bag in tow, Gregg Rosner ’78 made it back for his 40th reunion.

©The Lawrenceville School Lawrenceville, New Jersey All rights reserved.

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A THOUSAND WORDS

SECRET ’STACHE

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Photograh by Paloma Torres

Head Master Stephen Murray H’55 ’65 ’16 P’16 ’21 didn’t bristle a bit at the mysteriously mustachioed members of the Class of 1963 near the end of the Grand Parade at Alumni Weekend 2018. Such smiles were seen on the faces of the 1,400 Lawrentians and their families who returned to campus for reunions in May.

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NEWS IN BRIEF

HAMILLITE WHITE ELECTED PRESIDENT “I’m extremely grateful to the student body for electing me out of the seven candidates”

Trevor White ’19 was elected student body President for the 2018-19 School year in April.

White, who served as president of Hamill this past year, looks forward to promoting transparency between the Student Council and the student body.

“I’m extremely grateful to the student body for electing me out of the seven candidates,” White said after the results were in. “They all deserve an incredible amount of respect for their work and how they handled their campaigns. That being said, I’m really excited to start working with the Council and the prospect of what we can get done.”

Former president Brianna Thompson ’18 passed the torch to White at the Commencement Ceremony in June.

SHRIYA ANNAMAANENI ’20 / THE LAWRENCE

HEELY SCHOLARS RETURN TO GILDED AGE This year’s eight Heely Scholars, Annie Morgan ’18, Stefan Reutter ’18, Bobby Vogel ’18, Cameron Wenzel ’18, Justin Wong ’18, Maddie Vore ’18, Abby Dichter ’18, and Hadley Copeland ’18, presented their individual research to the Lawrenceville community in April at a poster session inside the Noyes History Building.

The event was the culmination of research they began last summer with a two-week boarding seminar inside the School’s Stephan Archives, researching the Gilded Age. With the goal of connecting how the Lawrenceville School fits into national and global themes, the eight Scholars take field trips to local sites, museums, and archives, such as the Trenton Public Library. At the conclusion of the two weeks, students produce a document-

Boys and Girls Track Win 11th Consecutive State Titles

BOYS

based question for use in Fourth-

Jakob Kunzer ’20 – 200m William Murray ’21 – 400m/long jump Robert Enck ’19 – 3200m Diassa Diakite ’19 – 110m hurdles Jeremy Huang ’18 – triple jump

Form classrooms during the

The boys’ and girls’ outdoor track teams each captured their 11th consecutive New Jersey Independent School Athletic Association (N.J.I.S.A.A.) championship in May at the Peddie School. First place finishes for Big Red were: !

Marcia Ojo ’21 – 800m Jasminstar Lysaith ’18 – 100m hurdles Ashley Orser ’19 – 400m hurdles Amy Aririguzoh ’20 – high jump Amanda Avery ’18 – pole vault Ally Stonum ’18 – triple jump

GIRLS

following school year as well as a presentation on a specific piece of the archives that are especially compelling to them.

Upon the Heely Scholars’ return for the fall term, all Scholars enroll in the Advanced Research Seminar course, during which they produce a 30-page historical research paper on a topic of their choice.

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0 JUST 6 NE OF O IS JOHN N ’18 MPSO Y THE A THO ALLY B N U N N EES, IA N T BR ENT F ED A , STUD ESIDEN AWARD S .

R K P IP O ND L H O ARS HOO LS, B ION, A SCHOL ING SC LORAT G, MEA O IN P G IN A X T S E C U U E SHIP O HILL’S MOREHEAD AT PROVIDES HO E, INQUIRY AND THE LAWRENC R A L O SCH ’21 / NT TH SERVIC APEL D-CAIN CAROLINA AT CH FOUR-YEAR GRA ERSHIP, PUBLIC MACHANDRAN A E H E LEAD A RA MOR IP IS A ORTH AVIGN ED FOR UNIVERSITY OF N -CAIN SCHOLARSH LDS OF OUTDOOR P P A T SON E FIE HEAD F THE THOMP S WORLDWIDE O ATION. THE MORE RTUNITIES IN TH PO ND IENT ER OP D FOU RECIP SUMM REHEA E O U M IQ Y UN MOTLE FOUR S, AND P O T P E. LA ERPRIS E ENT PRIVAT

SPACING OUT

Former NASA astronaut Michael Massimino spoke Michael Massimino (courtesy NASA) to Lawrentians on April 26 in the Woods Memorial Hall Heely Room. Massimino, now a professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia University, has a recurring role as himself on the CBS comedy The Big Bang Theory, and is considered to be the first person to communicate from space via the Twitter social media platform.

2018 Hutchins Scholars Announced

Lawrenceville’s Hutchins Scholars Program, which recognizes and supports some of Lawrenceville’s most outstanding science students, welcomed its most recent class in March. Nikhil Ajjarapu ’19, Anika Bagaria ’19, Praneel Chakraborty ’19, Elyssa Chou ’19, Jax Floyd ’19, Maxima Molgat ’19, Ashley Tay ’19, Andrew Tokarski ’19, Elaine Wang ’19, and Eric Zhu ’19 have already begun taking their passion for science beyond the classroom via independent research.

The program provides scholars with substantive research experiences, prepares them for leading university science programs, and ultimately inspires them to pursue science-related careers. Hutchins Scholars participate in summer research seminars and experiences during the summers before their Fourth and Fifth Form years.

The Hutchins Program, which also provides needbased financial aid to those scholars who qualify, is made possible by a $5 million gift to the School’s Bicentennial Campaign by Glenn ’73 and Debbie Hutchins.

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NEWS IN BRIEF

PAIR GRABS GIRL SCOUT GOLD

Inaya Ahmed ’20 and Lisa Miller ’19 have each received the Girl Scout Gold Award, the organization’s highest honor, presented to high school Girl Scouts who create a plan to solve a community problem.

Ahmed created a web application, Teens Together, which helps match teenagers with volunteer opportunities. The app was inspired by her desire to provide teenagers with personally meaningful volunteer jobs.

“You are going to make more of a difference if you are helping with something that really interests you,” Ahmed said.

Miller conducted workshops for girls of color in her hometown of Chicago to address how hair defines beauty in American society.

“I wanted to raise awareness among Black women about the beauty of their natural hair – a kind of beauty they don’t often see represented in the media,” she explained.

’65ERS TAKE MATCH MADNESS

IT CAME DOWN TO A BUZZER BEATER, BUT THE CLASS OF 1965

SCORED A SLAM DUNK WITH 27 GIFTS AND A WHOPPING 25 PERCENT PARTICIPATION DURING LAWRENCEVILLE’S INAUGURAL MATCH MADNESS CHALLENGE. HEAD MASTER STEPHEN MURRAY H’55 ’65 ’16 P’16 ’21 PRESENTED THE GAME BALL TO CLASS REPRESENTATIVE LEIGH LOCKWOOD ’65 P’97 ’02 ON THE VARSITY COURT TO MARK THE WIN FOR THE CLASS. CLASSMATES WHO MADE A GIFT DURING MATCH MADNESS RECEIVED A LAWRENCEVILLE BASEBALL CAP EMBLAZONED WITH “CLASS OF 1965, MATCH MADNESS WINNER!” RECOGNITION ALSO GOES TO THE CLASS OF 2007 FOR A TERRIFIC SECOND-PLACE SHOWING WITH 17 PERCENT PARTICIPATION. IN ALL, MATCH MADNESS RAISED $180,113 FOR THE LAWRENCEVILLE FUND OVER THE COURSE OF A WEEK.

Students, faculty, and staff shared their input on the design of the new athletic and dining complex at an event hosted by Sasaki Associates in the spring.

ATHLETICS, GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT If “breaking bread together brings people closer,” the planned athletic complex and underform dining hall at Lawrenceville will present the ideal community hub for active students at the School.

Planning and architectural firm Sasaki Associates is working closely with the School administration and Board of Trustees on a design that will satisfy Lawrenceville’s unique requirements.

“We’re also soliciting comments from everyone in our community – faculty, staff, alumni, parents, students – the same way we did in the early stages of developing the master plan,” Head Master Stephen Murray H’55 ’65 ’16 P’16 ’21 said.

“That input really advanced our thinking about what was important to the community.”

In the spring, Sasaki welcomed students, faculty, and staff to view models and drawings of the concept’s current iteration over two days and share their feedback with representatives of the firm. Similar events are planned for the future, both live and online.

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SOUTHWORTH STEPS IN

Veteran admissions pro will lead the School’s enrollment management efforts on an interim basis.

With Tom Sheppard leaving his role as dean of enrollment management to become the new head of school at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Jackson, Mississippi, The Lawrenceville School has hired veteran admissions professional Tom Southworth to serve the role in an interim capacity for the 2018-19 school year. Head Master Stephen Murray H’55 ’65 ’16 P’16 ’21 made the announcement of Southworth’s hire in late April.

Tom Southworth

During his years in admissions, Southworth conducted approximately 3,500 admission interviews, supervised 30,000 admission decisions, and distributed $84 million in financial aid.

Southworth lived and worked in American boarding schools for 41 years before his retirement from boarding-school life in 2014. Nearly a quarter-century of that time was spent in admissions, including 12 years as director of admission at Loomis Chaffee School, nine years at Choate Rosemary Hall as senior associate director of admission and director of financial Aid, and three years at The Williston-Northampton School as assistant director of admission.

During his years in admissions, Southworth conducted approximately 3,500 admission interviews, supervised 30,000 admission decisions, and distributed $84 million in financial aid. Since 1998, he has made more than 30 admission trips to the Pacific Rim, including mainland China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Murray said that the School’s paused search will relaunch next fall.

BIG RED RACKS UP HONORS Several Lawrenceville students were fêted recently for their athletic exploits for Big Red. " Ryan Conroy ’19 was named to the All-Mid-Atlantic Prep League boys’ basketball team after averaging 15.4 points per game in 2017-18. " Heaven Figueroa ’20 was the only sophomore named to the All-MidAtlantic Prep League girls’ basketball team. The versatile hoopster scored 15 points per game, and averaged four rebounds, two assists, and two steals per game. " Olivia Koch ’20 was selected as the US Lacrosse Magazine Mid-Atlantic Region Player of the Week in April. Her third goal of the game pushed Big Red over the top against South Jersey powerhouse Moorestown High. Following the win, Lawrenceville was ranked No. 4 in the nation by Inside Lacrosse. " Alex Mauro ’18 was one of 22 high school football players honored at the 56th annual George Wah ScholarLeader-Athlete Awards Dinner, hosted by the Delaware Valley Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, in March.

In addition, the girls’ 4x800-meter relay team of Marcia Ojo ’21, Margaux Terrasson ’19, Jesse Brewer ’18, and Carolyn King ’20 broke a Lawrenceville record in the event at the 84th Eastern Championships in New York in February, clocking in at 9:42.57. The unit finished the season ranked first in Mercer County.

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ON THE ARTS

ALUMNI ART SHOWCASED

T

he varied works of alumni artists Willy

Matthews ’68, Silas Kopf ’68, and Allen Fitzpatrick ’73 H’85 ’89 P’99 ’04 were celebrated with an Alumni Artist Reception in the Gruss Center of Visual Arts during Alumni Weekend in May. Matthews is best known for his portrayal of the working cowboys from the American West. His watercolors are part of numerous private and public collections including the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum, Booth Western Art Museum, Buffalo Bill Historical Center and Museum, and the Denver Art Museum. His work can be viewed at the William Matthews Studio in Denver or at williammatthewsstudio.com.

Kopf began making studio furniture in 1973, apprenticing for two years with American furniture artist Wendell Castle. In 1988, he received a Craftsman’s Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and was named a Master of

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MEMORIES, MUSIC FLOW FROM RETURNING COMPOSERS

the Medium for 2015 by the James Renwick Alliance of the Smithsonian Institution. Kopf works primarily with wood, but also incorporates materials such as mother-of-pearl, brass and copper into his art.

Kopf’s work can be found in museums and private collections around the world, and can be seen at silaskopf.com.

Fitzpatrick, who joined the Lawrenceville faculty in 1979, has twice chaired the School’s Visual Art Department, and was instrumental in bringing the Gruss Center of Visual Arts to life in the 1996. He earned an M.F.A. at the New York Academy Graduate School of Visual Art; and also teaches painting, drawing, and honors art history; and serves as the Big Red boys’ varsity lacrosse coach.

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hree alumni composers returned to campus recently to help celebrate 125 seasons of Periwig and commemorate the lasting impact of the School’s performing arts culture. Don McLean ’63, Robert “Zeke” Hecker ’65 P’99, and V. Paul Moravec Jr. ’75 spoke with students and offered feedback on the young learners’ performances.

The three alums discussed ways in which studying the arts at Lawrenceville influenced their future careers and artistic paths during a special presentation at School Meeting in the Kirby Arts Center.

“Learn the fundamentals, build the skills, and let the juices flow,” Hecker urged. “I write music because I have to.”

Moravec, a winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize in music and the 2006 recipient of the School’s Aldo Leopold Award, says a good deal of his time at Lawrenceville was spent in the music building, playing piano and learning composition.

“I enjoy composing because it can represent the whole of human experience,” Moravec said. “Lawrenceville nourishes the process of all things coming together to form the direction of your life.”

After remarks from the alumni guests, Hecker conducted the Collegium Strings as they performed the first work in his composition Passing Fancies, about summers spent in bucolic Guilford, Vermont.

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SDC CELEBRATES TIMELESSNESS OF DANCE

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ore than 100 student dancers, choreographers, and costume designers brought the 18th annual iteration of the Spring Dance Concert (SDC) to life at the Kirby Arts Center in April. This year’s theme, Dance is Timeless, underscored the evolution of the performing arts at Lawrenceville while drawing the department’s festive, yearlong 125 Seasons of Periwig celebration to a close.

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SPORTS ROUNDUP

SPRING SEASON STATS

Baseball Record: 4-12 Coach: Steve LaRochelle Captain: Will Venizelos ’18

Boys’ Lacrosse Record: 10-9 Coach: Allen Fitzpatrick ’73 H’85 ’89 P’99 P’04 Captains: Mark Rakowski ’18 William Rice ’18 Jake Robertson ’18

Girls’ Lacrosse Record: 18-3 Coach: Kris Schulte P’15 Captains: Annabelle Albert ’18 Kaeli Huesman ’18 Hannah Schur ’18

M.A.P.L. Champions Mercer County Tournament Champions

For the most curr

Softball Record: 12-5 Coach: John Schiel H’78 P’97 ’08 ’10 Captains: Grace Conallen ’18 Lindsay Kucker ’19

Boys’ Tennis Record: 10-3 Coach: Dave Cantlay H’89 ’91 ’93 ’94 ’15 P’07 ’09 ’11 Captain: Douglas Wellemeyer ’18

Boys’ Golf Record: 2-8 Coach: Tim Doyle ’69 H’79 P’99 Captains: Pito Walton ’18 Ryan Miles ’18

Girls’ Golf Record: 5-4 Coach: Ron Kane ’83 P’20 Captains: Serena Chen ’19 Caroline Colavita ’18 Carly Martinson ’18

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most current athletic news visit www.lawrenceville.org/athletics.

Boys’ Outdoor Track Record: 1-0 in dual meets Coach: Erik Chaput Captains: Alex Mauro ’18 Jefferson Mott ’18 Alex Wey ’18

N.J.I.S.A.A. Champions M.A.P.L. Champions Girls’ Outdoor Track Record: 1-0: 1-0 in dual meets Coach: Katie Chaput Captains: Jesse Brewer ’18 Tess Maloney ’18 Charlese Reynolds ’18 Ally Stonum ’18

N.J.I.S.A.A. Champions M.A.P.L. Champions Girls’ Crew Senior Four: 26th out of 56 at Stotesbury Cup; 4th at M.A.P.L. Championships Junior Four: 7th out of 59 at Stotesbury Cup; Gold at M.A.P.L. Championships Coach: Bernadette Teeley Captains: Turquoise Brewington ’18 Serena J. Khanna ’18

Brewer Breaks Records Jesse Brewer ’18 established six individual or relay-team Big Red records during her Lawrenceville cross-country and track career: ! Cross Country 5K: 18:44 ! Indoor 1,600m: 5:13.4 ! Outdoor 1,600m: 5:15.18 ! Indoor 3,200m: 11:32.51 ! Indoor 4x800m: 9:42.57 (with Marcia Ojo ’21, Margaux Terrasson ’19, and Carolyn King ’20)

! Outdoor 4x800m: 9:38.02 (with Ojo, Terrasson, and King)

Boys’ Crew Varsity Eight Record: 23-9 in sideby-side racing; Mid-Atlantic Championships bronze medalists Varsity Four Record: 3-2 Second Varsity Eight: 27-10 in side-by-side racing; Mid-Atlantic Championships silver medalists; Stotesbury Cup Regatta bronze medalists.

Coach: Benjamin Wright P’10 ’21 Captain: Elias Salander ’18 SUMMER

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GO BIG RED

A QUICK STUDY

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n a Wednesday afternoon, three days before the prestigious Penn Relays in late April, William Murray ’21 was understandably nervous.

It’s not that Murray, a track-and-field novice who had never competed in the sport prior to this past winter, showed apprehension in his manner. However, he acknowledged he had never run before a crowd the size of the one expected to fill the University of Pennsylvania’s historic Franklin Field.

“Yeah, I heard Coach [Erik] Chaput say there’s going to be like ten thousand people there,” he says.

Actually, Murray was told, more than thirty thousand spectators typically flock to the hulking edifice, which was once the home of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles. He paused as he absorbed this new information, trying to imagine running the third leg of Lawrenceville’s 4x400-meter relay team before such a throng.

“I don’t know what to think about it. I haven’t looked at pictures, but I think I’m just going to show up,” he says. “I have a very specific routine

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TRACK AND FIELD MAY BE NEW TO WILLIAM MURRAY ’21, BUT HE SPRINTED TO THE TOP AS A SECOND FORMER.

that I do before races, just so I can be comfortable and try to eliminate as much nervousness as possible.”

Does it work?

“I still get nervous before every race,” Murray admits, “but I think sometimes, that makes me run faster.”

By Saturday evening, Murray and his teammates on the relay team – Jefferson Mott ’18, Jakob Kunzer ’20, and Meinhardt Rentrup ’18 – had claimed the day’s best time in the high school boys’ prep 4x400 relay category, winning their race by a full five seconds. Murray ran his leg in a blazing 50.55 seconds, a personal best for the youngster from San Francisco.

Murray arrived at Lawrenceville last fall set on four years of soccer, and he enjoyed a fine freshman season. His teammates took note of his speedy athleticism, particularly Mott and Rentrup, who were also the two remaining sprinters from the group that set a new school record in the 4x400 relay in 2017. The two Fifth Formers knew that Kunzer, a Third-Form student, would be an effective newcomer to the squad, but wanted to persuade Murray to round out the team in order to chase the same sort of lofty heights this spring.

“Jakob encouraged William to come out for track, too, but it was really Meinhardt and Jefferson who played the biggest role,” says a

WILLIAM MURRAY: A QUICK SPRINT ! FIRST PLACE: 400 METERS – N.J.I.S.A.A. PREP A CHAMPIONSHIPS ! FIRST PLACE: LONG JUMP – N.J.I.S.A.A. PREP A CHAMPIONSHIPS ! FIRST PLACE: LONG JUMP – ED POREDA INVITATIONAL ! FIRST PLACE: 4X400-METER RELAY TEAM – 124TH PENN RELAYS ! FIRST PLACE: 800-METER SPRINT MEDLEY TEAM – ED POREDA INVITATIONAL

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grateful Chaput, who was unaware of Murray’s abilities when the academic year began.

It didn’t take the coach long to be convinced.

“Our real first encounter with him was in November when he came out for indoor track.

Immediately during the trials, I thought, OK we’ve got someone very special here,” said Chaput, who, along with his wife, Katie Chaput, head coach of the girls’ team, and assistant coach Jeff Streeter, witnessed Murray’s debut. “I had heard some great things from the soccer coaches about how fast he was in the field, but when he came out in track, I remember standing next to Katie and Jeff, and saying, this kid’s the real deal.

Though he was among the youngest competitors in all of this year’s meets, Murray quickly established himself, first as one to watch, and then, the one to beat. His leap of 21 feet, 2 inches earned Murray first place in the Ed Poreda Invitational in April at Lavino Field House, a nearly two-foot margin of victory. That same day, he teamed with Mott, Rentrup, and Diassa Diakite ’19 to claim first place in the 800-meter sprint medley. In early May, at the NJISAA Prep A Championships, Murray took home first-place finishes in the 400 meters (51.03 seconds) and the long jump, with a new personal best of 21 feet, 10.5 inches.

Despite his natural talent, Murray remains relatively inexperienced, and in a sport where good form can mean the difference between winning and being an “also-ran,” he realizes he’s just beginning to tap into his potential.

“I think that the amount of success I had [early on] surprised me, because I thought that it would take a lot longer for me to progress, especially in the 400,” he admits. “But I have seen a lot of changes in my running form, my style, and that’s just because of coaching.”

Chaput credits Murray for being so receptive to his tutoring, a trait he believes will allow him to continue improving, literally, by leaps and bounds. He forecasts Murray’s potential to run the 400 in under 48 seconds, and top 23 feet in the long jump by the end of his time in the program.

“I think that’s very possible for this young man to do in his high school career at Lawrenceville, based on where he is right now as a Second Former, and the simple fact that he is so coachable and so easy to work with,” Chaput says. “The kid has such drive. He makes goals for himself. Students have told me in his room, he writes his goals down, and hangs up his bib numbers. He’s a driven kid.”

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TAKE THIS JOB AND LOVE IT

THE PERFECT FIT

EMMA MCCLENDON ’05 BRINGS MUCH-NEEDED CONTEXT TO THE HISTORY OF FASHION.

M

ost people think of fashion on a superficial level: What will I wear tonight? What do I need to buy this season? They tend not to consider why this shirt or that skirt seems like the right fit – in a manner of speaking, of course – only that it is.

To Emma McClendon ’05, each of those decisions represents a single point along a protracted historical timeline of fashion, a moment shaped by myriad cultural, political, and economic influences. Every pair of pants you don exists in a context that has evolved over many generations, even if you’ve never considered it before.

McClendon is the associate curator of costume at The Museum at FIT, part of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, where she strives to make that story more evident, not only to the students of the university, but also to the broader public through the four major exhibitions the museum presents every year.

“What we strive to do with our shows,” McClendon says, “is provide an academic, theoretical, and historical perspective on fashion, clothing, and its impact within society and

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culture at large.”

At her disposal is a collection of fiftythousand objects, stored on site at 27th Street and Seventh Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.

It contains examples of dress dating to the 18th century and extending to the current day, as well as representative textiles. The museum also contains a collection of over a thousand pieces dedicated to the use of study

by FIT students across the disciplines, such as history, construction, and design. The academic component is essential to McClendon’s work in curating exhibits – the essence of the museum’s reason for being – to teach.

From December until this past May, the Museum at FIT hosted a show titled The Body: Fashion and Physique, which was conceived, researched, selected, and organized by McClendon. Inside the museum’s dimly lit, conservation-conscious gallery is a series of displays that leads the visitor through a journey of women’s fashion over the past two hundredfifty years. Individually, each piece represents a stylistic milepost – an elaborate silk taffeta dress from the 1860s made full by a crinoline, or a couture, strapless satin Christian Dior dress from 1951. However, the totality of McClendon’s

thoughtful, academic approach to the exhibit illustrates how dramatically the female body ideal has morphed over time and the role the fashion industry has played in that evolution.

“It’s really unpacking how this is related to body politics and the broader sociological, ideological, and psychological implications of how we view and treat our own bodies, as well as the bodies of others,” she explains.

“The exhibit also examines how the fashion industry plays into that, how it portrays the body, how it celebrates certain body types while also marginalizing or even stigmatizing other body types. The ideal fashion shape is a cultural construct, so it shifts and changes throughout history.”

Although there are obvious sociological implications, McClendon’s approach is primarily that of a historian providing perspective and context to what is happening in the industry today. Still, plain patterns emerge.

“The sad fact is that the fashion industry has historically treated the body, particularly the female body, as not good enough,” she says, “It’s something that needs to be changed, attained, or maintained in order to truly reach an ideal or be acceptable.”

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Emma McClendon ’05 most recently curated The Body: Fashion and Physique at The Museum at FIT to show that the fashionable body is, historically, a cultural construct that has shifted to emphasize different shapes and proportions.

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Photograph by Donnelly Marks

To underscore her point, the multimedia exhibit includes imagery from the fashion press, satirical cartoons from the 19th century, and 1980s-era aerobics videos.

“The idea of the ‘fashion victim’ comes up often,” McClendon says. “We look at these images, and the way that women’s bodies are being mocked by their clothing choices feels very familiar to us now with what’s still going on in culture today, you know with ‘Fashion Police’ and ‘Who Wore It Best’ and all of these things that are online, in magazines, or on television.”

McClendon grew up in Connecticut with an artistic sensibility and an interest in its history, and though she also had an affinity for fashion, she admits that she “never really knew how to explore it or get into it properly.” It was while she was majoring in art history at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland that McClendon earned an internship at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

“They specialize in decorative arts, and they have a very strong collection of fashion and textile objects, and do amazing shows there,” she says, recalling the way she began to see her varied interests dovetailing. “That was my first real entry point into seeing how I could bring my art-history training and this more academic, history-focused interest in visual culture, and connect that with my interest in fashion.”

The curators at V&A pointed her toward Courtauld Institute of Art for her master’s in the history of dress, which ultimately led her back to New York. She began as an intern at The Museum at FIT in 2011, feeling that she had found her niche.

“It’s a very interesting field to be in, because, it wasn’t immediately apparent to me,” McClendon says. “It was something that I kind of stumbled across, but a light bulb went on. It combines so many interests that I had had for so long, and in such a natural way for me, that it really felt like a perfect fit.”

7/11/18 8:35 AM

TABLE TALK

Q&A

FOREIGN INTRIGUE He doesn’t go by “007,” but Tim Doyle ’69 H’79 P’99 once thought he might just have a place in the CIA. His deep passion for Russian

history here with Robert Ainspac H’76 P’77 ’85, who taught it as an elective. He encouraged me to keep going with it.

language, culture and history, coupled with his knowledge of Morse code and amateur radio, seemed to make him just the right fit for a job in the intelligence agencies. The Lawrenceville alum and 42-year history master told The Lawrentian how he returned to the School, why he almost left, and why he’s remained.

Before you taught here, you were a Lawrenceville student. Were you interested then in Russian history as a subject?

Somewhat, but I would say I was more drawn to English as a student here. I’ve always been an avid reader, and I would curl up with books on Saturday afternoons in the old John Dixon Library, which I loved because it had these wonderful leather chairs. I really enjoyed that. I was drawn to that.

You’ve led numerous student trips to Russia.

What are the roots of your keen interest in it?

Before my Fifth-Form year at Lawrenceville, the Exeter summer program was offering what they called the Russian Study Tour. A high school student from anywhere could go to Exeter for three weeks and study Russian, learn the Russian alphabet, and learn some basic phrases. Then you spent the next four weeks traveling around the Soviet Union. My father, who had taken Russian

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at Princeton after he got out of the Navy in World War II, thought I might be interested in that. I was happy to do it, and it changed my life.

It certainly did. What resonated with you there as a teen?

That was the summer of 1968, and I turned 17 while we were in the Soviet Union. We were visiting a Pioneer camp; the Pioneers were the Soviet version of the Boy Scouts. The director of the camp, this big Russian woman, found out it was my birthday, so she called me up on the stage in front of hundreds of these little Soviet kids. She took a red Pioneer scarf, tied it around my neck, and said, “Now you are an honorary Pioneer.”

What a sweet gesture.

Right, and I came back just totally hooked. I came back and I said “I’m going to learn the language, I want to know the history,” so I took Russian

Is that when English started to fall by the wayside?

When I got to college, I was going to major in English, but changed it quickly to history and Russian studies. I took classes on the language and politics and history and literature, and ever since, that’s been my guiding compass point – Russian studies.

How did all of this lead you back to Lawrenceville?

I spent two years at Yale getting a master’s in Russian and East European studies, and when I finished in June of 1975, Lawrenceville was looking for somebody who could be a housemaster and help teach Russian. We already had one Russian teacher, and that program was getting bigger; it was still during the Cold War.

You were only six years removed from the School when you returned as a teacher. What’s that like?

The faculty was incredibly welcoming, but I would still call them “Mr. So and So ,” and they would correct me and say, No, my name is … you can call me by my first name. So, there’s initial awkwardness, but I learned an awful lot from the “old guys” who were still here then.

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Who were some people that you leaned on?

[Longtime mathematics chair] Paul Porter H’68 ’69 ’72 P’76 ’78 was one. Carty Lynch H’71 ’81 ’84, who was the director of the Fifth Form and a teacher of French, had been my teacher at Lawrenceville. Many of the teachers had been mine at Lawrenceville, so I was going back to people I already knew.

After the 1968 fire in Upper House put Tim Doyle ’69 H’79 P’99 and his fellow Fifth Formers out of their rooms for three months, they were allowed to write on the plaster walls of the House before they were recovered with wallpaper. Doyle recalls drawing a map detailing Russia and its border conflicts of the era. “This sounds really nerdy,” says Doyle, whose interest in the nation was already set by his teen years.

You teach American history to Fourth Formers – a class everyone takes – and economics, but also Russian history, Russian as a language, and run annual student trips there. Would it be fair to say that the School’s Russian-related offerings are more robust because of you?

I don’t think there had been an earmarked trip to Russia before. Once I came back here, Sam Harding H’85 ’86 P’87 ’89, who was the other Russian teacher, and I began to take kids to Russia back in the late ’70s. We kept doing that during the 1980s, too.

That’s interesting, given the renewal of Cold War tensions during the early Reagan years.

Did that ever affect interest in those trips to what was the Soviet Union?

Never, as far as I know. We always had kids sign up. Their parents were curious about Russia, and we assured them that it was safe to go and, when we got there, it was safe to be there. We never got harassed or followed by secret police or anything like that.

It remains a very popular student trip, perhaps because you’ve found a way as a teacher to show students why Russia resonates with you so deeply.

I jumped on teaching and – I know it sounds hokey – but the first day I did it, I was having so much fun that I said, “I can’t imagine something more fun that doing this.” The one detour I took, career-wise, was that in my field, Russian studies, we either teach or work for the government.

What could you have done with the government?

I grew up with James Bond and the Cold War, so I had always been interested in a career in the intelligence field. So, after my son Brian ’99 was born in 1981, during the first two years of his life, I applied to the CIA and NSA at the same time.

Both those agencies employ people with Russian language skills who can get through a security clearance.

Whoa. Surveillance? International intrigue?

Well, every kid in the ’60s wanted to grow up

to be James Bond! So, I went down to Langley several times but they told me I couldn’t tell anybody that I was applying. They said, We really would rather you not say anything to anybody other than your wife about what you’re doing. The CIA application was twenty pages long, and I got hooked up to a polygraph.

Did they dive into personal aspects of your life?

The CIA people knew that I subscribed to Pravda when I was a young teacher. I used it for Russianlanguage training. That sort of freaked me out, but in those days, they had a registry of people who subscribed to Soviet journals.

So what was the result of your applications?

Both agencies told me that once you get your security clearance, you can’t just go off to Russia as a tourist. It’s a security risk. The NSA said, Your travel to the Soviet bloc gets terminated unless we send you. And the CIA told me, Once in a while you might get sent there but people are standing in line to go there, so forget it. And I love going to Russia. I’ve been there more times that I can count now.

It was a deal-breaker for you?

Travel has always been a wonderful part of my life, and going to the Soviet Union or Russia and being able to speak the language has always been a super kick. It’s always been so much fun.

It took two years to go through all the security clearances, but at a certain point I wrote both agencies and said, “Please, I’m withdrawing my application.”

That must have been hard.

Yeah, but looking back on it I’m glad I didn’t [join either agency], because being a teacher is great.

What I can say about teaching at Lawrenceville – and this is my 43rd year teaching here – is that the kids are just fabulous. Over the years they’ve just gotten better and better and more and more curious. Being in front of a class of kids and helping them understand things, whether it’s the Russian Revolution or the Missouri Compromise, it’s always been fun. I have as much fun doing it today as I did when I started.

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ASK THE ARCHIVIST

Immortalized in film,

BY JACQUELINE HAUN

THE WINGS OF

William Howard Stovall

was one of America’s first hero fighter pilots.

WAR Class of ard Stovall, er William How m er an fight down six G 18.

1913, shot 19 in I II X his SPAD planes from

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hether they realize it or not, those who have seen the Academy Award-winning World War II feature film Twelve O’Clock High also know something of a great Lawrentian. The movie begins with the character of “Maj. Harvey Stovall,” portrayed by Dean Jagger, striding through high grass to an abandoned British airfield in 1949, where his memories take him back to the base’s tumultuous activities seven years earlier.

Jagger’s character is based on William Howard Stovall, Lawrenceville Class of 1913, and the film chronicles the introduction of daylight precision bombing of German targets by U.S. Army Air Corps service members stationed in Britain.

However, Twelve O’Clock High, for which Jagger won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, features but a single act in the protracted drama of Stovall’s life.

Stovall was born on his family’s cotton plantation in Stovall, Mississippi, in 1895 and sent to Lawrenceville in 1911. A member of the Creams football team and president of the Periwig Club as a Fifth Former, Stovall was nicknamed “Dink” after the hero of the then-newly published Lawrenceville Stories by Owen Johnson, Class of 1895.

Following his graduation from Lawrenceville, Stovall went on to Yale’s Sheffield Scientific School, from which he graduated in 1916 with a degree in agriculture.

Interested in modern farming methods, Stovall did a year of postgraduate studies in scientific farming at Mississippi A&M (now Mississippi State University), before his education was interrupted by the entrance of the United States into World War I. Within days of the April 1917 declaration of war, Stovall

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enlisted in the Signal Enlisted Reserve Corps at Memphis, Tennessee, and began training as a pilot, ultimately being commissioned as a first lieutenant that September.

Stovall then reported to France, where he continued advanced flight training and aerial gunnery training before being assigned in July 1918 to the U.S. Army’s newly organized 13th Aero Squadron, a unit based along the Western Front in France and charged with fighting the enemy in the air – at the time, a cutting-edge approach to warfare.

Stovall was tasked with flying a single-seat, double-winged SPAD XIII, a French aircraft powered by a 220-horsepower engine and armed with two machine guns. Less than a month after he first reported, Stovall, along with three other American pilots, shot down two German Albatros D.V fighters over Viéville-en-Haye.

From September 15 to October 23, 1918, an additional four German Fokker D.VII fighters were added to his tally. During one of these engagements in late September, Stovall and another pilot both had engine trouble while leading a protection patrol over a bomber squadron near Étain, France.

Even in distress, Stovall held off seven enemy flyers with his machine gun, downing one, earning him the Distinguished Service Cross for bravery.

With the Armistice of November 11, 1918, Stovall’s service in the war came to an end. He had flown fifty-four missions and documented six kills, three of them solo endeavors, but he settled into peacetime as a farmer with the same devotion he had shown his military service.

At home in the Mississippi Delta, he applied the scientific farming methods he had learned before the war to his family’s crops. In addition to introducing innovative crop-rotation and -dusting practices, he invented and patented a bur clover seed harvester. During this civilian period, he also married and had three sons and a daughter.

Flying still remained close to Stovall’s

heart, and he maintained a pilot’s license, led local flying clubs, and assisted in the establishment of the Memphis Municipal Airport.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, again halted Stovall’s peaceful agrarian lifestyle. Just as he had in 1917, Stovall – by now 46 years old – immediately reenlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps at the rank of major. Following a brief assignment in Greenland, Stovall joined the Eighth Air Force Fighter Command in England as the deputy chief of staff for personnel. By 1943, he was elevated to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

This time, there was another Stovall actively fighting the war in Europe from a plane – Lieutenant Colonel Stovall’s oldest son, 1st Lieutenant William Howard “Bud” Stovall Jr. ’41. A letter in the Lawrenceville School’s Stephan Archives dated June 8, 1943, outlines a father’s advice to Bud upon learning that his namesake had decided to follow in his footsteps. In addition to detailing his four recommendations for good wartime piloting – air alertness, expertness in gunnery, efficiency in flying, and an “aggressive spirt” – the elder Stovall had shared the letter with numerous military colleagues to add their advice to the young pilot. The resulting letter demonstrates the warmth, pride, and genuine brotherhood of Stovall’s military circle, very much in keeping with relationships portrayed in Twelve O’Clock High.

Upon completion of his training, the younger Stovall joined the 56th Fighter Group, a unit still renowned for its wartime successes. Father and son had an opportunity to spend Christmas 1944 together in London, where, following dinner, they ended the evening by sitting on the front steps of a hotel singing Onward Christian Soldiers and Silent Night together. It would be the last time Stovall saw his son. On New Year’s Eve 1944, the younger Stovall was killed in a firefight over Germany against seven German

FW190s after his parachute failed to properly deploy while he was escaping his damaged plane.

Initial reports indicated that Stovall’s plane had been shot down by friendly fire from a young lieutenant in his first combat encounter. The elder Stovall knew the chaos of air combat and kindly told the griefstricken young man not to blame himself for what had happened. In investigating details of his son’s death, Stovall went so far as to review the film from the accused pilot’s gun camera, and discovered that the young pilot could not have hit Bud Stovall’s plane – the angle of deflection of the guns made it impossible. He shared that information with the young pilot, Stovall family members say, because he had seen a friend die in a friendly fire incident and did not want the young man to carry that burden with him unnecessarily.

Bud Stovall was 21 years old when he died, having flown twenty-one missions. He was officially credited with shooting down two of the enemy planes his final patrol had encountered. Following the end of hostilities in Europe in May 1945, the elder Stovall undertook a successful mission to locate his son’s body and relocate it to the Netherlands American Cemetery. Several military honors were awarded posthumously on the younger Stovall’s behalf to his family, including the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Silver Star, and the Purple Heart.

Stovall left military service a second time in July 1945, again devoting himself to innovative farming, for which he earned the Federal Land Bank’s 50th Anniversary Gold Medal for outstanding contributions to American agriculture in 1970. The Colonel died on May 11 that same year, on the family farm, Belmont, and was buried on the land where he was born.

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ABBOTT REOPENS, RENEWED AND RESPLENDENT Summer.indd 22

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A

By ANDREA FERESHTEH with photographs by Paloma Torres fter almost two years of construction and renovation, the newly redesigned Abbott Dining Hall reopened in April, just in time for Revisit Days and select Fifth Form meals. The updated facility not only features reconfigured dining and food preparation areas, but it was completely reimagined to better reflect the architecture and style of the Circle area of campus, as well as the School’s storied history and traditions.

“My first reaction when stepping through the grand entrance of Abbott was wow,” said Alexander Wey ’18. “I love the energy and communal aspect of the long tables while still having the familiar Lawrenceville look and feel. It could be one of my new, favorite buildings on campus.”

,

Built in 1962 and named for former Head Master Mather Abbott, who served from 1919 to 1934, Abbott is the dedicated dining hall for Fifth Form students and frequently plays host to special dinners and alumni events.

The redesign process was kindled almost ten years ago when historian John Stephan ’59 sat down to dinner in the “old” Abbott Dining Hall for his 50th reunion. According to Wes Brooks ’71 H’09 P’03 ’05, Lawrenceville’s former chief financial officer, Stephan “lamented its condition,” and “the fact that you couldn’t tell if you were in Lawrenceville or a Marriott.” Stephan was inspired to work with the School to envision a new and improved Abbott that would better reflect Lawrenceville’s history, traditions, and style.

Preserving the timeless aspects of Lawrenceville’s history and heritage is a passion to Stephan, and the Abbott redesign isn’t the first time he and wife Barbara Stephan have focused their philanthropic efforts on projects that protect and showcase Lawrenceville’s rich past. In 2009, their $6 million gift created The Stephan Archives, a state-of-the-art physical and digital repository for Lawrenceville’s extensive collection of School-centric documents, images, and artifacts. Dr. Stephan, an professor emeritus of history at the University of Hawaii, worked closely with School archivist Jacqueline Haun to ensure that materials would be appropriately preserved and easily accessible to researchers, particularly Lawrenceville students.

Echoing Lawrenceville’s architectural history and honoring cherished traditions were key objectives in the Abbott redesign, with a specific effort to create a space to visually tell Lawrenceville’s archival stories. Visitors are greeted by a display of House flags and cases filled with trophies and other School artifacts.

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The redesign also reflects the distinct Richardson Romanesque architectural style of the Circle Houses and Woods Memorial Hall, with a brick façade and large arched windows reminiscent of Upper House. Abbott’s woodpaneled elegance and vaulted beamed ceiling also immediately recall the interior of Edith Memorial Chapel.

The roof of the original building was raised significantly, and trusses with metal tie-rods were installed, a direct reference to the work of Peabody & Stearns, architects of the 1880s and ’90s building that ring the Circle. Similarly, hidden flying buttresses support the weight of the roof, creating cozy alcoves that feature leaded glass lunettes, or little moons, a nod to the façade of Upper.

According to Sarah Mezzino, the School’s curator of decorative art and design, the colors of the glass reflect the colors of the House flags.

Norse dragons, like those on Upper House, adorn the window sashes inside the dining hall and represent both an ending and a new beginning, both unity and self-sufficiency – traits especially applicable to the Fifth Form.

“The inclusion of Norse dragons reveals Peabody’s genius in blending architectural

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styles and embedding symbolism to create The Lawrenceville School’s campus,” Mezzino says.

“Peabody’s work here is so unique that there is no architectural term to define it, which is partly why the campus is a treasured National Landmark.”

Mezzino also highlights the inclusion of multiple brass images embedded in the building’s new terrazzo flooring. Figures ranging from the trademark Lawrenceville “L” and “V” symbolizing the Fifth Form lie among inlaid brass cockroaches, acorns, oak leaves, and strawberries – all of which have historic meaning for the School.

Two fireplaces carved with animal symbols borrowed from the exterior of Woods Memorial Hall flank the main dining room, which offers both banquet and alcove seating for two hundred students and one hundred faculty. Ten custom candelabras in the main dining room showcase the distinctive “L” in their design.

Food service equipment was relocated from the dining room to the kitchen area, keeping the main dining area open and relatively formal.

Smaller dining rooms can accommodate Board of Trustees dinners and other limitedattendance events.

Panoramic wallpaper custom-printed with images of campus surrounds guests in the Stephan Dining Room, furnished with a flexible-use wooden table designed by American artisan Thomas Moser. The Mario Room sits alongside the entrance corridor, honoring the family of Trustee Jeremy Mario ’88 P’16 ’20 and the Mario Family Foundation’s support of the renovation. Abbott also received a tech upgrade, says project manager James Kesilman, with new videoconferencing capabilities and wireless projection.

“Now that I’ve seen the final touches, it is obvious our team showed the right discipline and patience to ensure that every detail was properly attended to,” Head Master Stephen Murray H’55 ’65 ’16 P’16 ’21 says. “What a treasure for Lawrenceville. We are so grateful to the Stephans for their leadership of this project and to the Mario family for their support.”

Of course, the food options are as exceptional as the building itself. Gary Giberson H’11 ’18 P’10, director of dining services, says the menu in Abbott targets the more sophisticated palate of older students.

Thanks to state-of-the-art food service and prep equipment, Fifth Form students can enjoy

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RIBBON CUTTING CELEBRATES HISTORY pizza baked in an Italian pizza oven with toppings like arugula, prosciutto, or an egg, or the gourmet benefits of a new smoker and new, low-temperature slow cookers. The renewed Abbott also includes an expanded deli bar with a high-speed panini press and upgraded noodle bar, wok joy, quesadilla bar, and omelet station.

A new ice cream dispenser holds the perfect temperature for scooping smooth custard, and an innovative carbonated drink machine adds

bubbles to flavored waters. Bunn coffee makers and a reverse osmosis water dispenser are also on the menu.

“I’m just excited to get back in there and start experimenting,” says Giberson. “I’m trying to focus on concepts and working with seniors to develop them, which is good because then they are directly responsible and leave a legacy of their ideas behind. It will be fun to have Abbott again.”

Amidst blooming trees and a warm breeze, guests gathered on the evening of May 3 on the terrace of the newly redesigned Abbott Dining Hall for a ribbon-cutting ceremony signifying the building’s official rededication.

Wes Brooks ’71 H’09 P’03 ’05, Lawrenceville’s former chief financial officer, offered comments on behalf of John Stephan ’59, his brother-in-law and the major donor to the building’s renovation, who was unable to attend and represented in person by wife Barbara Stephan.

The Stephans also funded the creation of the School’s Stephan Archives.

“Sparking and feeding your curiosity is what Abbott and the Archives are both about, hand in hand, a pair of projects, each taking a different form,” Brooks said.

Jeremy Mario ’88 P’16 ’20, whose family foundation has helped shape several capital projects on campus, called the Abbott project unique among them.

“The Lawrenceville campus has many buildings of character, but I can’t think of another that incorporates the personality of the School in quite the same way,” Mario said.”

– Barbara Horn

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BY THE NUMBERS

HEY

Opened in the fall of 1962, Abbott Dining Hall isn’t the oldest structure on the Lawrenceville campus – not by a long shot. However, since it was completely reimagined to better reflect the School’s more historic architecture, a visitor would scarcely realize that the newly rededicated edifice hasn’t stood just as long as the neighboring Upper House and Woods Memorial Hall.

ABBOTT! 55

Years between

the January 25, 1963,

dedication of “Mather Almon Abbott Dining Hall” and the current iteration this May.

5,250

Detailed ice sculpture of the School seal that bravely withstood the unseasonable 91-degree heat during the Abbott rededication ceremony on May 3.

2

Fireplaces, reminiscent of those in Alumni Study, in the main dining room.

Years Mather Almon Abbott served as Lawrenceville’s sixth head master, from November 1919 until his death in May 1934.

1 4 , 0 0 0 S Q UA R E F E E T O F S PAC E I N T H E M A I N D I N I N G R O O M .

Approximate number of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners served each week to Fifth Formers in Abbott.

1

15

144 6 Number of cozy dining alcoves, each beneath leaded-glass lunettes, or little moons, a nod to the façade of Upper House.

Total number of brass acorns, oak leaves, strawberries, and Old Lower’s infamous cockroaches inlaid in the terrazzo flooring, all of which have historic meaning to the School.

40

Height, in feet, of the dining room’s new vaulted ceiling, featuring elegant trusses and metal tie-rods that recall those inside Edith Memorial Chapel.

4 Number of illuminated display cases separating the new conference room from the hallway leading to the dining room.

54 26

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Total number of brass “L” and “V” inlaid in the main dining room’s new terrazzo flooring, representing the School and the Fifth Form.

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Planned Giving

is for Young Alumni/ae, too!

As he recalls, Bowie

Helm ’03 was a reluctant Law-

rentian. As a Houstonian far from home, he was struck by the tradition, history, and beauty of the School’s community and campus, though he initially ached for the privileges of home not available to him as a boarder. “Still, I was fortunate to make lifelong friends, in large part through the camaraderie fostered by the School’s formidable athletic program,” he says. “My fondest memories are times spent on the track with Doc Shilts H’93 ’11 ’13 and others.”

Bowie says that with each passing year, “my appreciation grows for the unique opportunity presented to me when former Board of Trustees President Thomas Carter ’70 P’01 ’05 introduced me to the School.” He wants to be sure that others know that benefit, too.

“I made a commitment to include Lawrenceville in my estate because had others not done the same before me, the world would lack an institution that has enriched me and all those who have shared my experience.” – Bowie Helm ’03

For more information on leaving a bequest to Lawrenceville or for other planned giving opportunities, or if you have included Lawrenceville in your will but you HAVE not yet informed the School, please contact Jerry Muntz at the Lawrenceville Office of Planned Giving at 609-620-6064 or jmuntz@lawrenceville.org, or go to www.lawrenceville.planyourlegacy.org.

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Sharing a Home For graduates and students, Alumni Weekend is a chance to connect and learn from each other.

The classic scenes of Alumni Weekend always ring familiar: Lawrentians of the past reuniting with longtime friends to swap the latest news and old stories, sharing laughter that seemingly transports them to the time when they were fresh-faced students.

At the same time, however, the School’s campus is occupied by the students still authoring their own Lawrenceville stories. For them, Alumni Weekend is an opportunity to shake hands with the past, and the results can be unexpectedly rewarding for all.

“Seeing all the alumni in our House at once was an amazing experience,” said Cameron Desnoes ’19, a Hamill House resident who chose to take in the viewing of the 144th Kentucky Derby late Saturday afternoon in the Hamill common room. “I hadn’t expected such a large outcome, and it was really special to see that many alumni come together.”

Sitting nearby where Desnoes reclined on a soft couch, Sharyl and Guy Combs ’63 were elegantly dressed for the Class of 1963 dinner that would follow the Derby. For the moment, however, their enthusiasm was squarely on Justify, the race’s overwhelming favorite. As the couple positioned themselves in front of the television for what they hoped would become a celebratory “selfie” photograph, Desnoes politely asked if they would like him to take the shot.

“But then it wouldn’t be a true selfie!” exclaimed Sharyl Combs, to laughter.

Smiling, Desnoes returned to his conversation with a Hamill alum about the House’s recent changes. He also received an education of his own.

“I was able to meet an array of alumni who seemed very eager to meet me as well,” he said. “I nearly discovered more about the history of the School in that short time than I had my whole two years at Lawrenceville!”

Earlier that day, Peter Lyle ’88 took his 11-year-old son Chris to see his old room, No. 203, in Kennedy House. “I hadn’t seen the House since the 1980s, so it was a special opportunity to offer Chris a window into my childhood, and to help him understand in more concrete terms how students strive, live, and learn at the next level,” Lyle said.

Lyle could scarcely have imagined how close to home the lesson would cut.

Incredibly, the first student they encountered, Jax Floyd ’20, lives on the same street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan as the Lyles and graduated from the same elementary school, St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s, as young Chris. What’s more, Chris’ fifth-grade teacher this past year had taught Floyd as well.

“It was such an amazing coincidence, and it absolutely made our day,” said Yolanda Lyle, Peter’s wife, “mostly because he was an unbelievably kind and bright young man.”

In speaking to Floyd’s friend, Brandon Henry ’20, Peter Lyle learned that as a child, he lived just one block from the home where Lyle’s parents still live, in the Vailsburg section of Newark, New Jersey. His own Kennedy homecoming couldn’t have rung more meaningful.

“Jax and Brandon were incredibly gracious, mature, and impressive in their scholarship, kindness, and poise,” Lyle said. “I could not have imagined a better teaching moment for our son, and we were immensely grateful for their time.”

Back in Hamill, Desnoes felt a surge of pride in the place he occupies in the history of his alma mater.

“Getting to interact with people who had been in my shoes, and who felt so positively about their experience, was inspirational,” he said. “It made me feel more confident in the work I put in at school and athletics, but most of all, it made me proud to represent Big Red.”

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New Honorary Alumni/ae THE CLASS OF 1958 Virginia “Ginnie” Chambers H’59 ’60 ’61 ’62 ’66 ’73 ’80 ’89 P’77 Marshall H. Chambers H’62 P’77 (posthumously) Mary Elizabeth McClellan H’50 ’52 ’57 ’59 ’65 ’79 GP’10 Bruce McClellan H’57 ’60 GP’10 (posthumously) Edward J. Poreda H’57 ’61 ’63 ’67 ’69 ’70 ’89 P’77 GP’04 ’07 ’08 (posthumously) Linda Hlavacek Silver H’57 ’59 ’61 ’62 ’63 ’64 GP’06 ’08 John Silver H’56 ’57 ’59 GP’06 ’08 Sullivan A. “Tripp” Welborne P’21 THE CLASS OF 1963 Benjamin F. Briggs H’61 Peter C. Candler H’67 ’76 THE CLASS OF 1968 Roger D. Brink H’66 ’67 (posthumously) Frederick W. Gerstell H’77 William M. Polk H’72 THE CLASS OF 1973 Virginia “Ginnie” Chambers H’58 ’59 ’60 ’61 ’62 ’66 ’80 ’89 P’77 Sally Fitzpatrick H’73 ’85 P’99 ’04 THE CLASS OF 1978 Jeffrey Smith H’77 W. Graham Cole Jr. H’77 ’80 ’83 ’85 ’87 P’91 ’95 Robert “Rob” N. McClellan H’65 P’10 THE CLASS OF 1988 Emilie Davis Kosoff H’96 ’00 P’19 Col. David E. Schorr H’97 ’02 P’80 ’82 GP’97 ’09 ’12 ’17 John W. King H’79 ’01 P’88 ’90 (posthumously) THE CLASS OF 1993 Catherine Boczkowski H’80 ’92 ’11 P’89 ’91 (posthumously) James T. Adams ’65 H’82 ’96 ’01 P’93 (posthumously) James Jordan Penelope Reed P’89 ’91 THE CLASS OF 1998 Martha Gracey H’92 ’93 ’07 P’18 Holly Burks Becker P’06 ’09 ’12 THE CLASS OF 2003 Rev. J. William Wauters Jr. ’67 P’01 Matthew Miller P’21 (posthumously) THE CLASS OF 2008 Thomas Dillow THE CLASS OF 2013 Kevin Mattingly H’05 P’99 ’01 THE CLASS OF 2018 Gary Giberson H’11 P’10 Emilie Davis Kosoff H’96 ’88 ’00 P’19 Stuart Robertson ’11

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! NEW ALUMNI TRUSTEE MARK M. LARSEN ’72 P’01 ’04 ’06

THE CLASS OF 1948 Zorela Jimenez H’49

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Athletic Hall of Fame Inducts Three ! NEW ALUMNI SELECTORS JAMES A. ROWAN JR. ’66 EMILY WILSON ’05

DOUGLAS S. LUKE ’38 P’60 ’63

Held Lawrenceville records in the high jump and long jump that lasted more than a quarter century.

Won numerous events at the Penn Relays for Big Red. Made the U.S. Olympic team as a high jumper for the 1940 Summer Games, which were ultimately canceled due to the outbreak of World War II. BRUCE QUACKENBUSH ’73 P’17 ’18

Captained the boys’ soccer team for three seasons, 1970-72.

Played four seasons of varsity ice hockey, leading the team in scoring as a Fifth Former.

Honorable mention for the New Jersey All-Prep baseball team in 1971 and ’72.

Played on the lacrosse team that won the All-State Senior Bowl Game in 1973.

Played hockey and lacrosse at Princeton University.

WILLIAM W. SCHROEDER

Dod A. Fraser ’68 P’98 ’01 Named Distinguished Alumnus Dod A. Fraser ’68 P’98 ’01 was honored with the Distinguished Alumnus Award during Alumni Weekend 2018. The prestigious accolade is conferred annually by the Lawrenceville School Alumni Association Executive Committee to a Lawrentian in recognition of exception efforts to promote the best interests of the School.

An active School volunteer, Fraser has served as a class agent, member of the Alumni Executive Committee from 1976-79, and alumni trustee from 2002-06. As a trustee, he chaired The Lawrenceville Fund, offered helpful counsel in a reorganization of the Alumni and Annual Giving offices, and assisted in the development of metrics that have led to increased class participation in fun and fundraising. He continues to be a leader of the Class of 1968, which celebrated its 50th reunion this year.

Fraser and his wife, Susan, divide their time between Boca Grande, Florida, and Sonoma, California. They are the parents of Dod P. Fraser ’98, George Fraser ’01, and Duncan Fraser.

Began coaching girls’ track and field in 1992 and was instrumental in establishing the N.J. Independent Schools Athletic Association (NJISAA) relays championship for girls (previously held only for boys).

Complied an indoor track record of 192-45-1 in dual meets over 21 years as head coach.

Won nine Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) and 14 NJISAA indoor titles.

Outdoor teams were 125-23-1 in dual meets, with 13 MAPL and 14 NJISAA championships.

Began coaching girls’ cross country in 1999, leading teams to a 97-12 record in ten seasons, with one NJISAA and nine MAPL championships.

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TIME WAS...

75 YEARS AGO IN THE LAWRENTIAN

50 YEARS AGO IN THE LAWRENTIAN

! SUMMER 1943

! SUMMER 1968

LT. “BISS” MOORE IS WOUNDED IN AFRICA

Information on the wounding in North Africa of LT. G. BISSLAND MOORE ’37 while on duty with his battery indicates that while his wounds are serious, he will recover. “Biss” is the son of Colonel GEORGE E. MOORE, assistant chief of staff at the Hampton Roads Point of Embarkation.

Following his graduation at Lawrenceville, he completed the four-year course at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he had an unusual record of scholastic and athletic achievement. There he was cadet battalion commander, captain of the cross-country team, and received letters in track for three years, running the mile and half-mile.

– From a news item. Lt. Moore would recover to win a silver medal in the 1948 Olympic pentathlon, and returned to Lawrenceville in 1967 as its assistant treasurer.

THE CHIEF RETIRES For the first time since 1940, “The Chief” and his wife Bert were not present to greet the first camper contingent at the Lawrenceville School Camp this summer. George [H’47] and Bertha Schonheiter have retired as directors of the Camp.

It is fair to think of the Schonheiters as co-directors.

George, though officially director, did much of the manual work around the Camp. Bert, while bringing up her own three children, planned the meals, did all the marketing, supervised the kitchen – one summer she ended up doing all the cooking – and often acted as nurse. Together they made go an enterprise that influenced for good not only the lives of the underprivileged campers, but also those of the Lawrenceville students who worked as counselors.

– From the “The Thirteenth Chair” news roundup by Norval F. Bacon Jr. H’49

30 YEARS AGO IN THE LAWRENTIAN

! SUMMER 1988

OF KISSES AND COLLAPSED CHAIRS When she received her diploma, Elizabeth Alcott Beardsley ’88 entered the Lawrenceville records books on three, perhaps four, scores. She was the first female graduate of the School, the first Lawrenceville alumna, and the first daughter of an alumnus (James M. Beardsley ’56) to graduate. And she may have been the first diploma-recipient ever to have kissed the head master and the chairman of the Board of Trustees before grasping her sheepskin and making her way back to her seat.

– The Commencement 1988 wrap-up continued with an unfortunate report of a folding chair collapsing beneath a faculty member during the invocation by the Rev. Richard Downes.

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STUDENT SNAP: ZACH DREYER ’18

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Lawrentian THE

usps no. 306-700 the Lawrenceville School Lawrenceville, New Jersey 08648 Parents of alumni: If this magazine is addressed to a son or daughter who no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please email us at kzsenak@lawrenceville.org with his or her new address. Thank you!

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