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Finding the words Alumni, faculty, and students share their gifts and strengths to help people with hearing and language disorders.
also inside
Sculptors’ art gives shape to personal expressions Reconstructing Annie Irish
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W I NTE R
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A special pla ce Dear Alumni and Friends, I write to you from my new favorite town and adopted college. The light outside is uncharacteristically bright on the leafless trees in the Oak Grove, making the Delmar Arch stand out even more against a pale blue sky. More important than the weather, however, is what is happening beneath those trees, inside the Arch doorways, and elsewhere on campus. Have you ever tried to take control of your calendar and track how you spend your time? What if you did that for a college? It is trickier, but makes the richness of college life stand out in high relief. Is a day at Wooster efficient? Not necessarily. Is it life-changing? Not by itself. Is it vast, complex, intricate, personal and effective? Absolutely! On an early morning at Wooster’s Scot Center, we may see English professor Larry Stewart pumping iron, while on the other side of the balcony, tennis team members hone their backswings. We find a first-year seminar class in session with geology professor Mark Wilson, with a dozen students clustering around a conference table in Scovel Hall talking about the popularity of the pseudosciences; across campus, political sciences professor Angie Bos discusses the meaning of citizenship in the writings of Alexis deTocqueville. At lunch, history professor Katie Holt gathers with her Independent Study students to discuss their progress while, off campus, a Wooster student observes children at a local elementary school playground for her sociology I.S. on gender differences in play. That afternoon finds chemistry professor Paul Edmiston demonstrating the use of chemistry equipment in instrumental analysis. Students in physics professor Don Jacob’s electronics laboratory program robots and watch them perform complex tasks while students in biology professor
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Laura Sirot’s natural history of the invertebrate lab visit nearby Fern Valley to explore mollusks. Hours later, the Moot Court team (a national powerhouse) is taking over five Kauke classrooms to practice their oral arguments. The practice sessions are fast and furious, the guest judges tough, and the intensity high. Meanwhile, conversations on other topics are keeping students engrossed during a lively student government meeting, which the leaders are attending despite the conflict with the Wilson Lecture that night, given by alumnus Jeffrey Keefer ’74, retired chief financial officer and executive vice president at The DuPont Company. Some students take a break after this, sitting next to the fire in Lowry, while others, with finals just around the corner, head to the Andrews Library to plug in—to laptops as well as lecture notes. Students disband soon after for sleep, for more study in the quiet corners of Taylor or the Wired Scot, or to listen to their friend on the College radio station. All this happens in just one day because of the heartfelt passion faculty feel for their students and their own academic lives, the care I.S. advisers have for their mentees, the leadership skills that coaches strive to impart to their scholar-athletes, the guidance that resident directors provide even when their students are unaware of those tutored moments, and the donors, alumni, parents and friends who together make the spirit of Wooster come alive with such distinction and sense of place. It wells from the campus like an ambiance that says “come, learn, be a part of the family, and grow.” A special place indeed. I hope you enjoy reading about it and always feel welcome on campus—your campus— where the Arch still stands as a symbol for the power and complexity of learning. LAURIE HOUCK
vice president for development and alumni relations
I S S N 0 8 9 4 - 8 7 9 8 | W I N T E R 2 0 1 2 | V O L U M E 1 2 6 , N O . 2 | C O N T I N U I N G T H E W O O ST E R P O ST G R A D U AT E , F O U N D E D 1 8 8 6
Karol Crosbie E D I TO R I A L AS S I STA N TS
P R E S I D E N T Grant H. Cornwell
VICE PRESIDENT FOR ENROLLMENT AND COLLEGE RELATIONS Scott Friedhoff
WO O ST E R (USPS 691-220) is published fall,
winter, spring, and summer by The College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio 44691. Periodical postage paid at Wooster, Ohio, and at additional mailing offices.
Mary Dixon ’12, Brooke Skiba ’14, Becca Wardrop ’14
V I C E P R E S I D E N T F O R D E V E LO P M E N T
CA M P U S P H OTO G R A P H E R
Matt Dilyard
AS S O C I AT E V I C E P R E S I D E N T F O R C O L L E G E R E L AT I O N S A N D M A R K E T I N G
DESIGNER
John L. Hopkins
Send address changes to Wooster Magazine, 1220 Beall Avenue, Wooster, OH 44691-2393, 330-263-2327, and editorial comments to 330-263-2187. Campus switchboard: 330-263-2000
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D I R E CTO R O F A L U M N I R E L AT I O N S A N D T H E WO O ST E R F U N D
Email: kcrosbie@wooster.edu, Class_Notes@wooster.edu
Laurie Houck
Heidi McCormick ’86
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A Q U A R T E R LY MAGAZ I N E FOR A LU M N I & FRIENDS OF TH E COLLEG E OF WOOSTE R
E D I TO R
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Fe a t u re s
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FI N DI NG TH E WOR DS
Alumni, faculty, and students serve people with hearing and speaking disorders. 2 0 SHAPING IDEAS: THE SCULPTORS
2 8 R ECONSTR UCTI NG AN N I E The story of Wooster’s first female professor 3 2 WOM E N’S ADVISORY B OAR D Supporting the women of Wooster for 119 years
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5 32 Departments
2 OAK G ROVE
36 C L A S S N O T E S
6 ALU M N I N EWS
61 O B I T U A R I E S
C OVE R I MAG E:
Alix Northrup, Christina Ullman, Ullman Ullman Design Design
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Oak Grove
HAPPE N I NGS AROU ND CAMPUS
Oak Grove
Oversized relief prints illustrate diversity Process intrigues, involves Wooster community Last semester, printmaking students created large relief prints to illustrate diversity as part of an event sponsored by Embracing Our Differences Ohio. Working with Marina Mangubi, associate professor of art and chair of the art and art history department, and Emily Sullivan, adjunct professor of studio art, the 13 students first chiseled images into blocks of fiberboard. The blocks were covered with Japanese paper for the first rolling, and then with muslin fabric, and were pressed by an oversized printing press—a 12-ton steamroller— courtesy of Bogner Construction Company. The parking lot became a studio, and a crowd gathered. The prints were then dried and exhibited in the MacKenzie Gallery. Muslin prints were given to Embracing our Differences for use in traveling displays. The printmaking media was chosen because of its populist history and the collaboration required when creative minds work together. “During this process, our students had to learn to deal with one another’s differences and somehow find common ground,” said Sullivan.
P H OTO S :
Karol Crosbie and Matt Dilyard
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College receives grants The Clare Boothe Luce Program of the Henry Luce Foundation awarded the College a four-year, $200,000 grant to support female science majors pursuing research in the physical sciences. The grant allows the College to provide four scholars each year with two years of research support, including stipends during the academic year and the summer, funds for research expenses, and travel to conferences. The students also will team with faculty to serve as counselors and mentors to high school girls interested in science, through existing Wooster programs such as B-Wiser and Expand Your Horizons. Paul Bonvallet, associate professor of chemistry, has received a three-year, $65,000 research grant from the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund for a project involving a molecular container that can encapsulate and release smaller molecules by opening and closing, in response to light.
The first I.S. Monday In the last issue, we asked for information on the history of I.S. Monday, the celebratory day on the first Monday following spring break, when Independent Studies are due to the registrar. Here’s what we learned from Beth Irwin Lewis ’56. “On a rainy cold March day, a week before I.S. Monday in 1989, Glenn Bucher, then dean of faculty, and Beth Irwin Lewis, his assistant, decided that Tootsie Rolls were not a sufficient celebration for the seniors’ great day. We raced around making arrangements—finding a drummer (Andy Lewellen ’91) and posting campus-wide invitations to gather at the Kauke arch when the registrar's office closed. Glenn and a few other faculty members donned academic dress; Andy marched around campus announcing the event; a jubilant crowd gathered, and we all marched (danced!) across Beall Avenue to the Underground, where refreshments and entertainment planned by Richard Figge and Larry Stewart created an exuberant celebration.” Mark Gooch ’90, a librarian at the College, remembers that 1989 was also the first year for the “I Did It!” buttons and that the New York Times covered the first parade with the now-famous headline, “Agony, then Ecstasy: End of Senior Thesis.”
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Author, students share “a song sung by many” Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat was the featured speaker of the College’s 2011 Wooster Forum, and the author whose book was assigned to first-year students over the summer as part of First-Year Seminar. Students discussed Danticat’s Brother, I’m Dying, a memoir that tells the interwoven stories of Danticat’s father, who emigrated to the United States, and her uncle, a Baptist minister, who remained in Haiti and raised Danticat until she was 12, when she joined her parents in Brooklyn. In 2004, amidst unrest and fighting in which his church was destroyed, the 81-year-old uncle came to the U.S., seeking temporary asylum. He died in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. Students were asked to write an essay reacting to the book, and, as tradition dictates, exemplary student writers were chosen to share a meal with Danticat. Edmund Shi ’15 was one of 10 students so honored. The following is an excerpt from his essay: “Countless other countries as well as Haiti are facing the same troubles, and the United States has been struggling for years to make their lives better. This causes even more people to have to make the hard choice of abandoning their memories and suffer heavy losses for the sake of better living. My family itself has the same ties.They grew up in the communist-dominated China, and they also had to leave behind good memories so they can get better educations and employment opportunities in the United States. Edwidge’s story is what I call a ‘song sung by many.’” Award-winning author Edwidge Danticat shares a word with Edmund Shi ’15. P H OTO :
Matt Dilyard
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Oak Grove
HAPPE N I NGS AROU ND CAMPUS
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New core message drives College’s positioning strategy Wooster is America’s premier college for mentored undergraduate research.
The College’s integrated marketing strategy uses many avenues. P H OTO :
Karol Crosbie
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Wooster competes—for students, faculty, and philanthropic support—against hundreds of outstanding colleges in a global marketplace, and the stakes of that competition are high. President Grant Cornwell notes that Wooster’s vision statement— “To prosper as a distinguished liberal arts college…and to enjoy a reputation that reflects our achievements” requires that the College more effectively differentiate itself from its competitors. “We must become not just more widely known,” he says, “but known for something specific, distinctive, and compelling.” What is that something? Simply this: Wooster is America’s premier college for mentored undergraduate research. The positioning statement makes a bold claim, says Scott Friedhoff, vice president for enrollment and college relations, but it is one that generations of alumni know is true, through personal experience. Higher education administrators throughout the country agree. For the past 10 years, when U.S. News & World Report asked college presidents and deans to identify schools with outstanding undergraduate research opportunities and senior capstone programs, only two schools made both lists every year: Wooster and Princeton. The benefits that flow from this distinguishing feature are of primary importance to prospective students and their families, says Friedhoff. When Wooster students participate in mentored research, they develop independent judgment, creativity, projectand time-management skills, self-confidence, and strong written and oral communication skills—precisely the abilities valued by employers and graduate programs. “I.S. is such an important part of a Wooster education,” says Friedhoff, “but the words ‘Independent Study’ alone don’t tell the story to someone unfamiliar with Wooster. We wanted to focus on the core of what happens at Wooster and what we do best, but in language that’s less likely to be confusing. We think ‘America’s premier college for mentored undergraduate research’ does that.” The “premier” statement is one of three key messages that the College is using to communicate with prospective students, families, and other audiences.
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“I.S. is such an important part of a Wooster education, but the words ‘Independent Study’ alone don’t tell the story to someone unfamiliar with Wooster. “ . . . Scott Friedhoff, vice president for enrollment and college relations
Says Friedhoff: “As a newcomer to campus who has worked or consulted at a dozen different colleges over my 30-year career, I can tell you that the way students support one another, the combination of terrific traditions, creative cleverness, and a profound sense of pride on this campus is absolutely incredible and creates an environment that so many students desire. And the city of Wooster is a remarkable asset. It’s large enough to have a rich mix of businesses, from high tech, to health care, to the arts, and the internship opportunities they provide. It also has a vibrant downtown with great coffee shops, restaurants, bookstores, and specialty shops. Yet it’s small enough to be safe and easy to get around in.” Development and alumni staff, coaches, faculty, the Board of Trustees, and the Alumni Board have been briefed on the new strategy, and campus communicators have joined forces to produce consistent print and electronic messages. The orchestrated effort and clear message has been well received by parents and prospective students, say admissions staff.
How you can help “Alumni are our secret weapon!” says Scott Friedhoff. Here’s how you can help to ensure that the country’s best students know about Wooster, and that Wooster knows about them: 1. Write letters of recommendation: “We receive more than 5,000 applications for the 550 spots in the first-year class,” says Friedhoff, “and one of the most important things our alumni can do is help us sort through that pile by writing letters of recommendation for students they know.” 2. Communicate the College’s message to friends and neighbors. 3. Participate in college fairs and other admissions events as Alumni Admissions Advocates. For more information, go to http://woosteralumni.org, or contact Landre McCloud at 330263-2110. 4. Share your positive College experience on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CollegeofWooster.
Wooster’s core messages Wooster is America’s premier college for mentored undergraduate research. There is a spirit here that is distinctively Wooster: creative, clever, confident, friendly, serious about what matters, but utterly unpretentious.
Independent Study means intense, one-on-one mentoring from faculty members. Here, Nancy Grace, professor of English and women’s, gender and sexuality studies, works with a student. P H OTO :
Our home—the City of Wooster—is a vibrant community of 26,000 with a strong, diversified economy, a thriving downtown, and easy access to outdoor recreation.
Ryan Donnell
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Alumni News
WO OSTE R ALU M N I ACTIVITI ES
Alumni News
Recent books by Wooster alumni authors William Chapman ’55, History and Theology in the Book of Order: Blood on Every Page; Witherspoon Press, 1999. William Chapman ’55, Finding Christ in the Book of Order; Witherspoon Press, 2003. William Chapman ’55, Mission Symphony; Witherspoon Press, 2004. William Chapman ’55, Distinctively Presbyterian; Witherspoon Press, 2006. William C. Chittick ’66, In Search of the Lost Heart: Explorations in Islamic Thought; State University of New York Press, 2012. Dan Cryer ’65, Being Alive and Having to Die; St. Martin’s Press, 2011. (named one of the Top Ten Books on Religion and Spirituality for this year by Booklist) Michael Dever ’79, Jackass Investing: Don’t do it. Profit from it, Ignite Publications, 2011. Cameron Flint ’97, To Secure to Themselves and Their Countrymen an Agreeable and Happy Retreat: The Continuity of Scottish Highland Mercenary Traditions and North American Outmigration; VDM Verlag, 2008.
If you have news of a book published in the last few years, let your class secretary know, or contact us directly at class_notes@wooster.edu.
David B. Ogle ’65 (co-authored), The Legislative Branch of State Government: People, Process, and Politics; ABC-CLIO Publishing, 2007. James A. Pope ’64, Supply-Chain Survival in the Age of Globalization; Business Expert Press, 2011. Rebecca Powell ’71, Straight Talk: Growing as Multicultural Educators; Peter Lang Publishing, 2001.
Ron L. Kuntz ’72, The Awakening of Adam; Tate Publishing Company, 2011.
Rebecca Powell ’71 (co-authored), Toward a Literacy of Promise: Joining the African American Struggle; Routledge/Taylor & Francis, 2008.
Joe Mortenson ’63 (co-authored), Field Guide to Marine Mammals of the Pacific Coast; University of California Press, 2011.
Rebecca Powell ’71 (co-authored), Literacy for All Students: An Instructional Framework for Closing the Gap; Routledge, 2011.
Betsy Bartter Muller ’81, Energy Makeover—A Conscious Way to Stay Young, Have Fun and Get More Done! Motivational Press, Inc., 2011.
Yalman Onaran ’91 Zombie Banks: How Broken Banks and Debtor Nations Are Crippling the Global Economy, Wiley, John & Sons, 2011.
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ALU M N I WE E KE N D
ALU M NI B OA RD NE WS
Mark your calendar: June 7-10 for Alumni Weekend
P H OTO :
Matt Dilyard
New Alumni Board members The Alumni Board welcomed its newest members, who began their three-year terms in July 2011. From left, bottom row: David Gilliss ’80, the Board’s president-elect, is an attorney in Timonium, Md.; Ryan Burgess ’93 is senior vice president of Fifth Third Bank in Columbus, Ohio; Angela Massoni Kates ’97 is vice president of internal communications at AFLAC U.S. in Columbus, Georgia; Sangram “Sam” Sisodia ’77 is professor of neurosciences and director of the Center for Molecular Neurobiology at The University of Chicago; Karen McCleary Lockwood ’72 is a business and diversity consultant with The Lockwood Group, LLC in Washington, D.C.; Meris Mandernach ’01 is collection management librarian at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va.; Don Custis ’58, in Neptune Beach, Fla., has retired from executive positions with United Way Boards and as a Presbyterian pastor.
Distinguished Alumni Award nominations You, more than anyone, know alumni who exemplify Wooster’s dedication to excellence and commitment to service, and who have distinguished themselves in their professional career, service to humanity, or service to Wooster. To nominate an alumna or alumnus for a Distinguished Alumni Award, go to http://woosteralumni.org/award and submit by July 1, 2012.
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hen were you last on campus? Has it been five, 10, 25, or even 50 years? However long it may have been, it’s not too soon to begin thinking about your return to The College of Wooster for Alumni Weekend, June 7-10, 2012. Reunion committees are well on their way to planning a wonderful experience for you and your classmates; mark your calendar and plan to join us. This is also the time to consider making your reunion gift. Reservation materials will be sent in April and will also be available online at that time. The registration deadline is May 30, 2012. P H OTO :
Matt Dilyard
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C O M M U N I C A T I O N
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S C I E N C E S
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A N D
D I S O R D E R S
The College of Wooster’s unique program has launched many successes.
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C R O S B I E
With two faculty members, one clinical supervisor, and approximately 40 majors, Communication Sciences and Disorders is a small but mighty major in the College’s Department of Communication. Students study both auditory and language disorders, and receive four semesters of clinical experience in the College’s Freedlander Speech and Hearing Clinic, a hands-on opportunity almost unheard of in an undergraduate program.
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Alumni of the program have a myriad of diverse professional opportunities
available to them, and the field is growing. “I’ve been in the field for 40 years,” says Doug Hicks ’71, “and I feel continual confirmation that my work has allowed me to share my gifts and strengths. I’ve never looked back.”
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C O M M U N I C AT I O N 1 4 1 : I N T R O D U C T I O N T O C O M M U N I C AT I O N SCIENCES AND DISORDERS (CSD)
ome communications sciences and disorders majors choose to attend Wooster because of the unique opportunities afforded by its Speech and Hearing Clinic. But an equal number are hooked by Communication 141, which fulfills a history and social sciences requirement dubbed “Learning Across the Disciplines” and is taken by many students exploring options in the communication department. (The course is also a favorite of the two CSD professors who teach it. “I won’t say we fight over it,” says Professor Donald Goldberg,“but . . let’s just say we love teaching Intro.”)
Professor Joan Furey asks students in her intro class to experience talking with an artificial larynx.
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On a November morning, the class is in full swing, this semester under the tutelage of Professor Joan Furey. With Socratic facility, Professor Furey engages students in a fast-paced conversation, peppered with “What do you think?” and “Bingo! You’ve got it!” The breadth of the class, which covers disorders related to hearing, speech, and language, is huge. “We cover a new disorder almost every day,” says Furey. On this day, Professor Furey uses slides, audiotapes, and a unique exercise to teach about people who must function without a larynx (or voice box). She passes around an artificial larynx and asks each student to silently mouth a few words, with the device pressed to their necks. The students’ words— buzzy but discernable—illustrate a key concept: Speech is not produced by just one organ (even if the organ is named the voice box) but occurs when organs function together. Jeremy Ludemann, a sophomore, is one of those students who was hooked by Comm. 141. “I took it to fill a time slot, and I fell in love with the discipline,” he says. “It’s unusual for a liberal arts college to offer a CSD major, but it makes good sense, because it’s so multidisciplinary.” Ludemann, one of only three males in the current group of majors, is particularly interested in dialects and accents and hopes to study abroad next year. “Dr. Goldberg is one of the best professors I’ve ever had,” says Ludemann. “And Dr. Furey is incredibly sensitive to the fact that we students are an academic work in progress.”
DEAF-INITION Although the general public may think of deafness as the inability to hear any sound at all, professionals in the field use the word to describe a broad range of hearing loss. Here is the definition the U.S. federal government uses: Deafness means a hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.
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INDEPENDENT STUDIES The CSD major offers a rich trove of research topics. Here are a few examples:
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For her junior I.S., Elizabeth Striegl ’12, advised by Donald Goldberg, researched training strategies for therapists and parents of children who received cochlear implants in both ears, at different times. She created a poster summarizing her results, and it received a blue ribbon from an international symposium on cochlear implants. For her senior I.S., she is researching the amount of post-cochlear implant therapy and information available to adults, whom she calls a “neglected population.” Striegl is planning to attend graduate school for a doctorate of audiology program (Au.D.) and hopes to continue for a Ph.D.
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I For her senior I.S., Elizabeth Beal ’12, advised by Joan Furey, is researching the amount of training and information that faculty and staff at four selected universities have about Asperger’s syndrome. Beal, who works in the Admissions Office, says she became interested in the topic because of the number of prospective students visiting the College who mentioned that they had the disorder. Beal is planning to get her M.S. in speech language pathology and hopes to work in a hospital setting.
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THE FREEDLANDER SPEECH AND HEARING CLINIC
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S ERV I N G TO LE A R N ; LE A R N I N G TO S ERV E
n 1963, as the College was planning its new communication building, administrators made an unusual request. They asked the citizens of Wooster for ideas on how this new building, Wishart Hall, might benefit their community. Their idea—a facility to help diagnose and treat people with speech and hearing disorders—struck a chord with College leaders; such a facility would allow the College to combine service, teaching, and research. The Freedlander Speech and Hearing Clinic, developed and supervised by one of the communication department’s visionaries, the late Jim Rea, opened its doors in 1966.
{ above } Liz Benckart ’13 encourages two-and-a-half year-old Avery to use specific words in their session together.
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Forty-five years later, the clinic continues to fulfill its three-tiered role. Services to community members are free, and there is almost always a waiting list of clients, says Laura Gregg, a licensed speech-language pathologist who supervises and evaluates clinic interactions. In the early days, a foundation supported the clinic’s free services, but now the College supports its expenses. Students majoring in communication sciences and disorders take four semesters of clinic practicum. This unique opportunity, combined with Independent Study, makes graduates highly competitive in graduate school and in the employment marketplace, say faculty members and alumni.
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“Students come out of the clinic bouncing with excitement, saying, ‘This is what I want to do — LAURA G R EGG for the rest of my life.’”
Making a difference By mid-fall semester, the student clinical team of Megan Keefe ’12 and Liz Benckart ’13 is comfortable with their client, two-and-a half-year-old Avery and her mother, Courtney. Courtney was certain something wasn’t right with her daughter’s language development. “She just wasn’t talking; she’d make her needs known by yelling and pointing. The doctors wanted to wait until she was older, but I thought it was better to do something sooner, rather than later.” To the untrained eye, the two student clinicians seem to be simply playing dolls with Avery. But they have specific objectives.They want the little girl to say at least the initial consonant and subsequent vowel in the words “bed, TV, couch, door, dresser, baby, potty, stairs, mom, dad, phone, and house.” Courtney is in the room with her daughter, and her involvement is crucial to the therapy’s success, says Gregg.
“ I went to two other places for therapy, but they didn’t want me to be in the room,” says Courtney. “This is the best. I’ve already noticed a huge difference in Avery.” Like most student clinicians, Megan and Liz say they are excited about the experience and their choice of major. Megan, who is doing her Independent Study on the ability of nurses to feed babies with cleft palates, hopes to work in a hospital setting. Liz, who is interested in studying autism, wants to work in the public schools. “Students come out of the clinic bouncing with excitement, saying, ‘This is what I want to do for the rest of my life,’” says Gregg. “It’s one of the few programs where, as an undergraduate, you can see—through documentation, interaction, and transferring theory into practice—that you are making a difference. And who doesn’t want to make a difference?”
Jordan Bell ’13 works with 10-year-old Peter, a client who is having difficulty organizing his words and making decisions about how many details to include in conversation . “He loves coming here,” says his mother. “So do I.”
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CONNECTIONS
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THE POWER OF MENTORSHIP
t’s hard to find a better illustration of the power of mentorship than the intersecting, multigenerational stories of Jim Rea, Doug Hicks, Don Goldberg, and Stacey Lim. I
The story begins with the late Professor Jim Rea, who joined the College’s Communication Department in 1963 and became the first supervisor of the new Freedlander Speech and Hearing Clinic three years later. When first-year student Doug Hicks ’71 wandered into the communication department in 1967, deeply interested in both science and psychology, Professor Rea introduced him to the field that was the perfect marriage of his interests—communication sciences and disorders. “It was pivotal that Jim was my assigned freshman adviser; he was engaging, student-oriented, and helped me begin to define what it means to be professional. He also helped me to see what it means to be a professor.” I
Don Goldberg, a graduate student in audiology and speech-language pathology at the University of Florida in 1985, remembered seeing a diploma from The College of Wooster on the wall of one his professors, Professor Hicks. So when an opportunity in the CSD major at Wooster later opened up, upon the retirement of Professor Rea, Goldberg called up his old friend Doug Hicks, and asked, “What do you know about Wooster?” Goldberg, who accepted the position at Wooster, recalls, “Doug couldn’t have been happier that someone he knew and trusted would be taking over the lineage of his mentor, Jim Rea.”
Jim Rea, the first director of the Freedlander Speech and Hearing Clinic, in 1971. Library Special Collections
I Don Goldberg first met two-year-old Stacey Lim ’01 when her parents brought their deaf daughter to eastern Pennsylvania, where Goldberg was working at the Helen Beebe Speech and Hearing Center; he was central to her progress in becoming a hearing, listening, and speaking person. When Lim was 15, she and Goldberg were at a conference on hearing impairment, and she remembers a speaker saying, “Children who are born deaf will never learn to speak or hear.” “Don and I looked at each other and said, ‘That’s not true!’ That’s what motivated me to go into audiology and help other people,” says Lim. “I chose to attend Wooster because Don was on the faculty there, and I knew he was a very strong auditory-verbal therapist. I wanted to go where the faculty would be supportive and I could learn through clinical experience.”
To read the unusual story of a 2011 alumnus who is hearing impaired, go to pg. 55. 14 Wooster W I N T E R 2 0 1 2
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DOUG HICKS ’71 director of The Voice Center and head of speech-language pathology, The Cleveland Clinic
{ below } Hicks was part of a Cleveland Clinic team that received international acclaim when it performed the first human larynx transplant. Here, he looks at an endoscopic view of his own larynx. “If I ever come into work with laryngitis,” he says, “the staff gives me a very bad time.”
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I
The internationally acclaimed soprano is expected to bring down the house in her upcoming performance at Severance Hall with the Cleveland Orchestra. I The lead singer of one of the hottest heavy metal bands to visit Cleveland this year is responsible for a sold-out concert at The Q. I A beloved country and western singer is scheduled to lead the national anthem in opening festivities of the Cleveland Indians. But the soprano has lost her ability to sing notes higher than a middle C, the rock star can only whisper, and the country singer’s croon has turned hoarse. Lucky for them, one of the country’s leading specialists in treating professional performers’ voices is a stone’s throw away at The Cleveland Clinic.
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DOUG HICKS { CONTINUED}
n truth, Doug Hicks’ presence at the Clinic has nothing to do with luck, and everything to do with design. Hicks, who graduated from Wooster’s CSD program, fell in love with and began developing the performance voice disorder subspecialty when he was working on his Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University near the nation’s country music epicenter—Nashville. After 10 years in academia, Hicks accepted an invitation from The Cleveland Clinic in 1989 to develop its speech-language pathology program
“The voice is the barometer of our emotions. Tone, pitch, loudness, and resonance—they make up our vocal fingerprint. When our voice goes south, our self-concept suffers.” — DOUG H ICKS
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and head its Voice Center. He couldn’t resist; once again he would be located at a musical performance hub. “Some of these crises come to me and my talented partners on a Friday afternoon at 5:00; the performer is scheduled to be at The Q at 8:00. They’ve waited this long, and they’re not getting better,” says Hicks. “It’s a very high tightrope act. You can be a champ or a chump in the blink of an eye.” But all evidence points to champ status for Dr. Hicks more often than not. Adorning the Voice Center’s hallways are signed photos from dozens of stars—from Pavarotti to Wayne Newton. On Hicks’ office wall is a gold record from the O’Jays, a thank you to their doc for treating one of their lead singers. And once country singer Little Jimmy Dickens thanked Hicks by name on national TV for his role in getting the star back on stage at The Grand Ole Opry. But the Voice Center is not reserved for the rich and famous. On the day that Wooster interviewed Hicks, he had just received a call from a public school teacher who had come to him for treatment because she was losing her voice. “She was almost in tears,” he recounted. “She said, ‘Everything’s working. I’m back. I can teach. I have staying power. You’ve given me back my life.’” Hicks is daily reminded of the interplay between psychology and the voice—a connection that attracted him to CSD when he was an undergraduate at Wooster. “The voice is a critical determinant of our self-concept and self confidence,” he says. “The voice is the barometer of our emotions. Tone, pitch, loudness, and resonance—they make up our vocal fingerprint. When our voice goes south, our self-concept suffers.” Hicks, whose wife, Suzanne Raticheck ’71, brother Bob ’68, and children Carrie ’98 and Jonathan ’05 attended Wooster, has high praise for his alma mater, for the CSD program, and its Freedlander clinic. “The farther out in time we go, the more our affection and appreciation for the College grows, because we see its value played out in life experience and academic training. “Today, communication sciences and disorders faculty and staff are changing the lives of students and lighting them up to the good work that serves the greater community. It’s a high calling. It’s a wonderful calling.”
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D ONALD M. GOLDBERG professor of communication
on Goldberg credits a six-year-old with determining his professional path. As an undergraduate at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., he volunteered at the nearby Helen Beebe Speech and Hearing Center. “Robert was a listening, talking deaf kid who changed my life. He was one of Beebe’s kids—one of the clients there—and I assumed that he was the norm. It wasn’t until I went to graduate school that I understood that Beebe’s kids—children who had been taught listening and speaking skills—were the exception.” Goldberg went on to become a world leader in hearing loss assessment and rehabilitation using hearing aids and cochlear implants. Today, implants are increasingly done on younger children, and Goldberg’s specialty has become infants, preschoolers, and their parents. He calls the increased knowledge and understanding of deafness and hearing loss a “sea change” compared to when he began in the field. But he also acknowledges that there is much work to be done. The cost of cochlear implants and the fact that surgery is required will prevent the process from ever being as easy and as common as getting eyeglasses, he says. Sometimes resistance to change comes from members of the deaf community, who consider sign language an essential part of their cultural and personal identity. Goldberg neither criticizes nor blames the deaf culture perspective but teaches respect and acceptance. In fact, the year he taught a first-year seminar on biomedical ethics, he asked one of his students, Stacey Lim, to develop a position arguing why a deaf person should not get a cochlear implant. When Goldberg was on the Wooster faculty from 19962005, he was the only CSD faculty member. He remembers
(with feeling) the semester he advised 20 Independent Studies. He left for five years to co-direct the cochlear implant program at The Cleveland Clinic, and during that time, the College’s communication department added an additional tenure-track position to specialize in speech and language pathologies. Goldberg returned to the College in 2010 and maintains a part-time and summer appointment at The Cleveland Clinic as a consultant to the Head and Neck Institute’s implant program. He is glad to be back at the College, he says. “This really is a gem of a program— especially the Hearing Clinic and the Independent Study program. It’s a very special place.”
{ above } Don Goldberg, Wooster professor of communication, teaching a 200-level audiology course. Goldberg, who works with children and their parents following cochlear implants (inset), is president-elect of the international Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. “Some day I hope that when parents hear, “Your child is deaf,” the next words they hear are, “and he’s going to be great!”
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{ S TA C E Y L I M ’ 0 1 he place was northeast Ohio, the time was 1979. The climate wasn’t great for young parents who didn’t want to pursue a conventional lip reading and sign language path for their newborn, deaf daughter, but instead wanted to teach her to speak and supplement her hearing. But in spite of doctors’ predictions that Stacey didn’t have enough residual hearing to communicate aurally, Betty and Charlie Lim purchased hearing aids for their daughter when she was 11 months old. In the book, We Can Hear and Speak, by Parents and Families of Natural Communication, Betty Lim remembers the family’s early experiences: “When Stacey’s hearing aids arrived, we put them on her, but she still could not hear. We called her. We banged pots and pans. No response. We sat on the kitchen floor and cried. And Stacey refused to wear her hearing aids, pulling them out and throwing them on the floor 30 to 40 times a day (we just picked them up and put them back in her ears). We were so worried about her future that at times we could not function.” But a new therapeutic philosophy was emerging: With a combination of amplification and intense instruction from involved parents, deaf children could hear and speak (see The Power of Learning to Hear and Speak, next page). The Lims enrolled Stacey in the Helen Beebe Hearing Center, and by the time she was in high school, she was not only in the mainstream, she was a top student. She enrolled at The College of Wooster to major in CSD, and at age 18 had a cochlear implant. The implant allowed her to hear things she had never heard before. “I love the musical, The Sound of Music,” says Stacey. “When the Reverend Mother sings ‘Climb Every Mountain,’ and would reach high notes, it just fizzled out. I thought that was normal. After the implant, I realized her voice doesn’t just end—it keeps on going!” For her Independent Study, Stacey researched what prompted people with severe hearing loss to make the decision to
{ right } Stacey Lim, who was born with almost no residual hearing, administers hearing tests to newborns at Akron City Hospital. Early detection and intervention is vital, she says. P H OT O : Larry Lawrence, Summa Health System
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“They were asking the same kinds of questions that I asked, when I prepared to make my decision. Wooster helped me answer my own questions.” — STACEY LI M
receive a cochlear implant. “They were asking the same kinds of questions that I asked, when I prepared to make my decision,” she says. “Wooster helped me answer my own questions.” Stacey and her adviser, Professor Don Goldberg, presented the research at an auditory-verbal international conference. Following graduation, Stacey received a Fulbright Scholarship grant to go to Germany (she had minored in German language and literature) to interview individuals with hearing loss about the support they receive in their decision to use spoken language. She received a doctorate of audiology (an. Au.D.) at the University of Akron and is currently at Kent State University, where she will receive a Ph.D. in audiology this year. She is researching how cochlear implants in both ears reduce the effects of background noise on speech understanding. She also administers hearing tests to newborns at Akron City Hospital and teaches a class of 109 students at Kent State. “I love teaching,” she says. “I really like my students. This is where I want to be—at a college and or university where I can combine teaching and research.”
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When Charlie and Betty Lim were researching different communication paths for their deaf daughter, they did an experiment: They used three different sentences and applied three different methods, to see how long it took one-year-old Stacey to understand them. When they used sign language, Stacey understood in two days; when they used lip-reading, she took four weeks; when they used her residual hearing and hearing aids, she took three months—time spent interacting intensively with her parents. But despite the time it took to teach their daughter to hear and speak, the Lims were committed to the process, and Betty resigned from her job as a dietician so she could work full-time with Stacey. Stacey remembers her parents’ constant narration of their everyday lives. “When we went to the grocery store, my mom would say ‘We’re going to buy an apple; apples are red; apples grow on trees.’ There was constant attention to learning layers of meaning.” The Lims were so compelled by the reasons for pursuing a listening/hearing life (auditory-verbal communication) for their daughter and others like her, that they co-founded the organization Natural Communication, Inc. (http://www.nciohio.com). Today, the idea has caught on, but when Stacey was born, there were few therapists who understood how to teach a deaf child to learn to listen and speak. The
Lims turned to a pioneering therapist, Helen Beebe, and to her Hearing Center, then in Easton, Pa. KEY CONCEPTS Proponents of auditory-verbal communication point to these key concepts: I
Approximately 90 percent of what very young children know about language and the world, they learn incidentally, through overheard language that occurs at distances. “Time is precious and early intervention is critical in this early period,” says Don Goldberg, professor of communications disorders at the College, who directed the Helen Beebe Center from 1992 to 1996. I
The part of the brain that processes language through sound is different from the part that processes through sight. If the hearing part of the brain isn’t used, it doesn’t develop. In what ways does this affect overall development? Research is beginning to give answers. For example, Stacey Lim is part of a research team in the Kent State University psychology department that is comparing the reading skills of deaf children who have learned language through their eyes (sign language) with that of children who have learned language with their ears, through cochlear implants or hearing aids.
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“If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all.”
Shaping by
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K A R O L
C R O S B I E
THE SCULPTORS
—M ICH E LANG E LO
IDEAS
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(A)SPIRE Insul brick, fence post finial, smudge pots, metal
Doug McGlumphy’s sculpture represents an intersection of his professional lives.
CONFINED Sandstone, aluminum siding, chain, wood.
D OUG MCG LUMP HY Regular Guy Monuments
d GROUNDED Barn siding, a lightening rod, cables, sandstone, and corrugated metal.
oug McGlumphy’s sculpture represents an intersection of his many professional lives. Preparator at The College of Wooster Art Museum, adjunct faculty member and director of the Olin Art Gallery at Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Penn., and owner of the historic Hisrich Hills House Bed and Breakfast and ArtFarm— McGlumphy is architectural preservationist, artist, and educator. The idea for Regular Guy Monuments came to McGlumphy when he and his family were vacationing in Washington, D.C. “I was intrigued by the notion that our common historic figures were often elevated and memorialized after feats of great bravery, leadership, or sacrifice. Although there are memorials in our nation’s capital to the bravery and feats of the ordinary citizen in times of national conflict, I felt that little attention is made to the contribution of the regular guy on a daily basis,” says McGlumphy. Using salvaged building materials—asphalt shingles, vintage linoleum, barn siding, fence posts—McGlumphy used the iconic obelisk shape to honor and memorialize working class people. The four monuments mimic the majestic Washington Monument but take full advantage of playful double entendres. (A)spire, topped by a finial from a fence in Millionaire’s Row in Pittsburgh, speaks to the aspirations of the working class to greater wealth. Grounded
P H OTO
BY
KAROL CROSBIE
makes use of barn siding and a lightning rod. Resourceful is created with vintage household material—linoleum, casters, silverware, upholstery tacks, and an orange squeezer. (A)spire is on permanent display at McGlumphy’s home and B&B in northeast Ohio. Eight years ago, McGlumphy and his wife decided to share their 108 year-old family farm with the public and opened Hisrich Hills House, a vintage 1820 log house that they moved onto the property and restored. The cabin gives him the perfect opportunity to “pay for my addiction to architectural preservation,” says McGlumphy. Guests enjoy a slice of history, 130 acres of rolling countryside, and an art gallery, where the McGlumphys exhibit and sell work by local artisans. Guests never fail to ask about (A)spire, says McGlumphy. “They easily understand its message.”
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Shaping
IDEAS
A MY B U C HWA LD ’86 Expressions of Nature
“
I
never thought I was remotely artistic,” says Amy Wierman Buchwald, an English major at Wooster. “I’d spend hours in the art building watching other people create and be amazed.” But when she found herself making intricate Christmas cards, sometimes spending a day on a single one, she acknowledged that making art was her passion. She saw kilnworked glass in a small gallery, fell in love, and knew she had found what she wanted to do. The ancient craft of fusing glass in a kiln and shaping it with a mold has largely given way to glass blowing, but Buchwald was confident that she could independently learn the classic technique. She also taught herself lampworking, in which a torch is used to shape glass. “I bought a book and through a lot of trial and error figured it out. I probably endangered my life during the process!” Buchwald wanted more than a twodimensional shape that often results when glass is molded. She created pieces that could be joined on an aluminum frame to form three-dimensional orbs, ovals, and ellipses. Having a vision and then creating techniques to serve it paid off. Her work has been exhibited in prestigious and competitive shows and has received numerous awards. Most recently, Buchwald’s Magnified was chosen as one of 100 works featured in the Corning Museum of Glass New Glass Review, beating out
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ONLI N E HTTP://WWW.AMYBUCHWALDGLASS.COM
2,329 other submissions from 39 countries. Her works have been sold throughout North America and as far away as Hong Kong. Buchwald is inspired by the natural world and the artistry of science—by the repetition of shapes on macro and micro levels. “Tiny organisms look like galaxies under the microscope, and a bug’s eye looks like a sculpture,” she says. “Whenever I want to express an emotion, it comes out as an expression of nature: sorrow is rain, joy is an explosion of happily swimming microorganisms, anxiety is exposed nerves wrapped around themselves." “Nature—the bud of a plant, or a cell, or a seedpod—is both organic and structurally complex. Likewise, my 3-D sculptures are both mathematically complex and organic. This union is fascinating to me.”
FALLING AWAY 21" x 7.5"
SORROW
21" x 7.5"
MAGNIFIED
18" in diameter
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FLOATING Metal, wax, and wood 15" x 11" x 24"
“Whenever I want to express an emotion, it comes out as an expression of nature; sorrow is rain, joy is an explosion of happily swimming microorganisms, anxiety is exposed nerves wrapped around themselves.” — AMY B UCHWALD JASON LA SCU ’01 Giving shape to human frailty
g
rowing up in Cleveland’s inner city had a lasting impact on Jason Lascu. An environment that he describes as harsh and adversarial inspired sculptures that reflect human frustration, labor, introspection, and loneliness. Lascu, who majored in art at Wooster and went on for an M.F.A. in sculpture at Washington State University, works in the Nashville, Tenn. area as head preparator at Tinney Contemporary gallery, art handler at The Frist Center for the Visual Arts, and gallery director at Volunteer State Community College. His work has been shown in more than 35 exhibits and has been purchased by collectors throughout the U.S. Lascu searched for the perfect medium for a long time. “I tried bronze, plaster, resin, dirt, and clay, and none of these materials captured the frail hopelessness I was looking for,” he says. “Since 2004, I have used wax as my primary medium; it illustrates the delicate fragility of the individuals I am trying to represent.” In addition, he uses found objects in metal and wood to adorn the figures. In April, Lascu’s new works will be on display at an exhibit at the Tinney Contemporary. The show, which Lascu will curate, features the works of leading sculptors. ONLI N E HTTP://JASON LASCU.N ET
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BREATH Biemiller stiched together 120 cubes, each made of six squares of thin paper. She then inflated each cube with her own breath.
“I think these ideas are accessible to most viewers. And the art is memorable. That’s what’s important to me; if people leave with a memory, I think I’ve been successful.” — SARAH B I E M I LLE R
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S ARAH B IEMI LLER ’ 89 Making the invisible visible
T
hese days, Sarah Curtis Biemiller’s professional life is more about nurturing other people’s art than about making her own. Her past experience as a creator of installation art, which often invites both the emotional and physical participation of viewers, stands her in good stead in her job with The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, in Philadelphia. As a senior program associate for the Pew Center, she helps local artists and curators develop their unique skills. Biemiller’s works remain part of the collective and individual memories of the art community. As an art major at Wooster, she studied sculpture with Walter Zurko (whom she dubs “One of my favorite teachers of all time”), but it was in graduate school at The University of Colorado, Boulder, that she developed a passion for installation art. “In a nutshell,” she says, “installation art creates an environment for the viewer to walk through.” This type of art was the perfect medium for her other passion—making the invisible both present and visible. For example, she illustrated the abstract concept of distance with Breath, a piece that prompted a New York Times reviewer to describe Biemiller as the “artist best able to carry out an attitude of buoyancy” in a national juried exhibition by the Creative Arts Workshop in New Haven, Conn. Using the same concept and technique she
used in Breath—dipping thread into wax— she created Miles Between, representing the distance between herself and her father, made at a time when their relationship was at odds. “We all understand a mile, but how many of us can see a mile? It took about a year to complete that piece, but the repetiousness of the work was cathartic.” Each mile stood seven feet tall in the exhibit and transformed the space into a luminous cloud. It is unusual to sell installation art, because unorthodox and temporary materials are often used, but a collector purchased 70 of the wax miles, said Biemiller. Another intangible concept that intrigues her is human breath. “It’s invisible, but you do it every day. If you had to think about breathing every moment, you couldn’t do it.” For a piece installed in terminal B of the Philadelphia airport and also at the Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) in Portland, Ore., Biemiller stitched together 120 cubes, each made of six squares of thin paper. She then inflated each cube with her own breath, creating a meditative, nearly weightless wall in the midst of the airport’s hectic activity. For another piece at PNCA, she hung 3,000 pieces of 30-foot thread with small lead weights attached to the ends so that they would respond to air currents created by viewers. “I remember at the opening, two people hugged and you could see the hug rippling through the piece. “I think these ideas are accessible to most viewers,” she says. “And the art is memorable. That’s what’s important to me; if people leave with a memory, I think I’ve been successful.”
MILES BETWEEN 336 miles of waxed thread
detail from CUBES OF BREATH
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Shaping
IDEAS
DRE W K H A LO UF ’86 Universal icons
d
rew Khalouf, who received his Wooster degree in vocal performance and an M.F.A. in acting from The American Conservatory Theater (ACT), has accrued 15 years of highly acclaimed performance credentials— from light opera to Shakespeare. A drama teacher with ACT, Khalouf has worked with students who have a wide range of talents, including those with physical, mental, and socio-economic challenges. During his two years as an actor, interpreter, and “voice” on national tour with a deaf theater company, Khalouf taught deaf students in both spoken English and American Sign Language. In other words, Khalouf can successfully make his living in many ways. But the creative gift closest to his heart is sculpture. “I began sculpting about 15 years ago as a private kind of respite, and it has grown more and more important to me, to the point that my acting and teaching work have almost become a means to support my sculpting.” His medium is eclectic and his ideas are provocative, but a piece that recently received wide acclaim was a traditionally rendered sculpture about a traditional subject—love. Khalouf created Dolores and George as a gift for his parents to commemorate their 47 years together. “I’m not financially in a place where I could provide them with everything I would like, but I decided
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“I began sculpting about 15 years ago as a private kind of respite.” — DR EW KHALOU F a portrait of them in their relationship would be uniquely from me,” he says. The sculpture was a semifinalist in a portrait competition sponsored by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, beating out more than 3,000 other submissions. The Smithsonian paid to have the sculpture shipped from Khalouf ’s home in San Francisco to his parents’ home in Pittsburgh, where it now lives.
DELORES AND GEORGE Khalouf’s sculpture of his parents was a gift to them to commemorate their 47 years together. P H OTO : Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
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WA LT ER Z U RKO From cardboard to clay—teaching to trust Walter Zurko, professor of art, is known to many students who took a sculpture class at Wooster in the past 30 years. An award-winning sculptor himself, Zurko hopes his students leave with sharpened visual literacy, the ability to develop their ideas, carry them out, exhibit them, and explain them to others. While many students arrive feeling confident about expressing their ideas with two-dimensional art, adding a third dimension can be challenging, he says. “Adding depth, space, and gravity to art is huge. The viewer must be able to walk around the piece—be physically involved with the art—without it falling apart or breaking down, both literally and visually.” It is essential to understand both the attributes and limitations of diverse materials—from cardboard, to string, to clay, says Zurko. “We begin studying sculpting materials by looking at their evolution as artistic media. In the early 20th century, we see artists moving beyond the use of traditional “living” materials, like stone, wood, clay, plaster, and metal, and begin including new media, such as plastics, rubber, light, and found objects. More recently, materials include every day items like matchsticks and Styrofoam cups. “Students are sometimes intimidated by the material; my role is to help them trust their own capabilities.” After students have completed an assignment, they exhibit it in the uncluttered space in Ebert Hall’s MacKenzie Gallery and explain it in a group critique to their classmates, who provide feedback. “How students present their art is as important as the work itself,” says Zurko. “It allows them to learn and express the language of art.”
Art
major SeungRyong Riew ’14 discusses an upcoming assignment with Professor Walter Zurko. Students in Art 163, Introduction to Sculpture, work on their projects in the studio in the basement of Ebert Art Center. Sophie
Steck ’15, explains her project, “River,” to her classmates.
P H OTO S Karol Crosbie
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n January 28, 1886, Professor Annie B. Irish canceled her German classes in order to care for her younger sister, Mamie, who had suddenly fallen ill with scarlet fever. It was the last her students would see her. Two weeks later, Annie was dead, a victim of the disease that soon also claimed Mamie. In Annie, Wooster lost its first female faculty member, first Ph.D. recipient, and one of its most dynamic advocates for equal education for women. The world was also robbed of Annie’s unpublished dissertation, lost in a fire that destroyed the Irish home after the sisters’ deaths. Annie was 28 years old. Annie’s death sparked an outpouring of emotion from the College community. Remembrances mourned the loss of Annie’s sweet and unassuming presence. In his chapel speech, President Scovel emphasized her “exquisite sense of propriety,” her “constancy in self-control,” and her “nature so refined by grace that the sources of disagreeable words…seemed to have been eliminated.” One faculty member wrote, “Her presence and counsel among the young women in our halls produced imperishable impression for good.” This was the Annie remembered by those who knew her then—a kind, caring and compliant young woman who worked tirelessly to pursue her dreams, yet never dared overstep the boundaries of propriety. But this perception of her enigmatic character only scratches the surface of who she really was. Glimpses of a more complex Annie Irish would not come until much later.
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THE SEARCH FOR ANNIE n the early 1990s, Wendy Barlow ’74 set out to uncover the history of the Women’s Advisory Board at the College. Through her search, she stumbled across a diary Annie kept during the years just prior to her arrival at Wooster. Finally, we had access to the girl behind the humble façade. The Annie we find in her diary was witty, critical, and sometimes downright sarcastic. She was at times bored by her work, frustrated with her family, and fatigued by her constant stream of obligatory social engagements. She was human. Annie’s diary provides us with a more textured view of her personality, one that questioned the status quo of the day and the very institutions she served. Annie was born in 1857 in Nebraska City, Neb. Her father, O. H. Irish, was a diplomat, and his work took the family overseas, where they lived in Germany and France. These were Annie’s early teenage years, and they proved to be a formative time. Annie returned to America fluent in both German and French and determined to master both of their literatures. But the need to help support her family led her to work rather than study. The family moved to Washington, D.C., where Annie found work as personal secretary to Secretary of the Interior Carl Schurz, a position that had previously been held only by men (she brushed off rumors of a love affair between herself and the Secretary). Annie’s talents allowed her to stretch the boundaries of her first position; she was soon translating state documents and
A page from Annie Irish’s diary. P H OTO S
Library Special Collections
Annie’s diary provides us with a more textured view of her personality, one that questioned the status quo of the day and the very institutions she served.
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rubbing shoulders with Washington’s elite. During this period, Annie began her diary—a gift from her father—that reveals the woman behind the diligent secretary and the dutiful daughter. Annie’s occupation meant that she was often in contact with current and former U.S. presidents, high-ranking government officials, and foreign correspondents (with whom, of course, she could converse in their native tongues). Yet the soft-spoken girl from Nebraska was far from star-struck by these engagements. Annie’s diary wearily chronicles her endless social responsibilities. “Still they came,” she writes, “short men, tall men, thin men, fat men, men with brains and men without— Army and Navy officers, Justices of the court, senators, House members, officials, lawyers, and citizens without a shadow of a title . . . the weather seems to be the most fertile topic of conversation, and is murdered often.” She writes in exasperation at the “supremely ludicrous” fashion statements made by her peers, the obligation to offer false praise for another’s dreadful paintings (“landscapes in every degree of badness”), and even glimpses into personal quarrels in Congress. Annie may have had an “exquisite sense of propriety” on the outside, but when no one was listening, she showed how she really felt.
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AN ADVOCATE FOR WOOSTER’S WOMEN n 1881, University of Wooster president Archibald Taylor invited Annie to campus to give a lecture on French literature. Interestingly, Annie’s diary reveals that it was during this 10-day visit that she first recognized Wooster’s need to increase its support for women, relating a conversation she had with a female student: “She lamented that there was no one here to advise the girls, to tell them kindly when they were doing unwise things and set them straight. I don’t know just what to think of the situation here. Something is needed to make co-education a success.” It wouldn’t be long before Annie became a leader in these efforts. After returning to Washington, she was admitted to Johns Hopkins University as a “special student” (at the time, the university didn’t enroll women). That summer, at age 24, she accepted a position as professor of German language and literature at the University of Wooster. Persistent illness dampened Annie’s excitement about the honor (“I look upon it with fear and trembling,” her diary read the following week), but Dr. Taylor seemed highly confident that Annie was right for Wooster. Here, the window into Annie’s inner musings is closed to us, as she threw herself into her work. Her last diary entry was written the fall before she began teaching at Wooster. She completed her studies in German and Anglo-Saxon the following year and was awarded a Ph.D. from the University of Wooster, making her the first student to receive the honor (although no one ever called her “Dr. Irish”). Annie’s German classes became some of the most popular at the College and she soon was named chair of the modern languages department. Annie continued to advocate for female students at Wooster. In 1883, she published an “Appeal to the Presbyterian Women of Ohio,” calling for funding for the creation of “cottages” to house university women. “Gathered into cottage families,” Annie wrote, “our young women would find themselves surrounded by the essential elements of home.” Annie and other early members of the Women’s Educational Association (predecessor of the Women’s Advisory Board) worked tirelessly to raise money for the fund, even setting up a lemonade stand one year during commencement. But Annie would never see women’s cottages become a
“I don’t know just what to think of the situation here. Something is needed to make coeducation a success.”
reality; the doors of Hoover Cottage did not open until 10 years after her death. A SPIRIT THAT LIVES ON er personality and life are so intriguing that it’s no surprise we keep trying, more than a century later, to make sense of Annie. Christen Campbell Hall ’87 transcribed Annie’s diary for her Independent Study, bringing Annie’s sometimes-illegible writings to light. Wendy Barlow’s in-depth pursuit of Annie gave us the original diary, and Barlow later wrote a play honoring Annie and other “spirits” of the Women’s Advisory Board’s past. Annie’s portrait, painted to hang in Hoover Cottage, was discovered in storage in Severance Gymnasium. It now watches over students in the entryway of Timken Science Library. Barlow and Professor of History Karen Taylor wrote a piece for Wooster magazine in 1992 discussing the way Annie defied 19th-century’s conceptions of womanhood. We have mythologized her character, interpreted, and reinterpreted her life and work. Yet each of these reconstructions is incomplete. As her diary shows us, Annie was not always the person she outwardly seemed to be. The diary gives us a fleeting glimpse, but it, too, is fragmentary. The true Annie we will never fully know.
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Supporting the women of Wooster for 119 years
he spirit of Annie Irish lives on today in the Women’s
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Advisory Board, a 119-year-old organization committed to the well-being of the College’s female students. As society’s definition of women’s “well-being” lurched
through eras of women’s suffrage, liberation, and the failure of the Equal Rights Amendment, the Women’s Advisory Board remained steadfastly gentle, gracious, and tasteful in the nature of its support. The women of the Board, wrote Lucy Lillian Notestein in 1969, “acted on the principle that whatever tends toward the development of the woman of taste and background should be their interest and their responsibility.” (from Wooster of the Middle West). 32 Wooster W I N T E R 2 0 1 2
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Sometimes calling themselves the “Hooverites,” the girls at Hoover were close knit and loved their cottage. “Hospitable Hoover with its great curving porch and its wide fireplaces is every year twice flooded with the tears of its inmates—they weep when they come because it is not home, and they wail when they leave because it has grown to be.” P H O T O 1916 Index W I N T E R 2 0 1 2 Wooster 33
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Built in 1895, Hoover Cottage was the College’s first campus housing for women students and was built at the urging of Annie Irish, the College’s first female professor. The Women’s Advisory Board took over the furnishing and decoration of the cottage and, for many years, served as a kind of collective dean of women. The Cottage housed women students for 65 years.
During their fall 2011 meeting, members of the Women’s Advisory Board met at the Library’s Special Collections to view historic Board materials. Here, executive members Sue Mathur (left) and Mary Beth Henthorne laugh over WAB minutes from April 9, 1907: “We, the undersigned do hereby petition the Advisory Board to amend the rule which states that ‘all visitors must be entertained in the guest room’ so that exception can be made to the aforementioned in cases when some girls have guests at the same time.’”
The purview of the Women’s Advisory Board (WAB) might appear broad, but in 1894 it was telescoped into a compelling and immediate purpose: To furnish and beautify Hoover Cottage, the College’s first residence for women. Empowered by the College’s Board of Trustees, the WAB handled both policy decisions and the minutiae of gracious living. The girls, they decided, would pay $2.75 a week (except for those living in the southeast and tower rooms, who would pay only $1.50). Committees were formed to raise funds for silverware, china, carpets, linens, bedding, and furniture. The parlor and reception hall would be a memorial to Annie Irish. The WAB remained a significant force after Hoover Cottage’s first tenants arrived in January 1896, serving as a kind of collective dean. They supervised the cottage’s matron and regularly reported to the College’s governing board. They were a strong voice behind the need for a dean of women and were instrumental in hiring Winona Alice Hughes ’91 for the post. Upon Dean Hughes’ arrival in 1912, the WAB relinquished many of its administrative duties. In the beginning, fund-raising was accomplished mostly through calls and visits to the administrative offices of the Presbyterian Church. But over the years, the WAB created fund-raising events that were as gracious as their mission, including the Invest in Girls Candlelight Tea, Alpen Fest, 34 Wooster W I N T E R 2 0 1 2
and today’s 35-year-old MayFest Benefit Brunch. If more than a century ago Advisory Board members understood that young girls arriving on campus might feel forlorn, today’s approximately 40 members similarly intuit that the College’s international students could use their help. For the past 44 years, the WAB has hosted a picnic to welcome international students, and for the past 11 years has hosted an international graduation reception; recently they began co-hosting the event with the Center for Diversity and Global Engagement. Since 1974, the WAB has held a dinner for women student leaders. In earlier years it was held in members’ homes and is now held in the President’s house. The main purpose of current fundraising (over the past two years the WAB raised $53,000) is to support student scholarships and grants. Thirteen of the 20 scholarships are endowed, and many honor friends and members of the Wooster family, including Annie Irish, 1882, Helen and Harold Arnold, Alva Bailey, Jean “Bunny” Bogner ’42, Elizabeth Hazlett Buchanan, Jean Waterbury Howlett, Barbara Burkland Landes ’41, Albert 1891 and Gordon McGaw ’22, Helen Hoover Secrest ’14, Norman Wright ’47, Vi Startzman ’35, Shirley Snider Ryan ’35, Jennifer Kay Blair ’89, Marge Hoge ’47 and Larry Hoge ’49, Everett Thomas Burnard, Stanley R. Welty Sr. ’24, and Stanley R. Welty, Jr.
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CHERYL GOOCH ’88 A former Women’s Advisory Board scholarship recipient is now a Board member heryl Isaacson Gooch ’88, who grew up in the British educational system in Hong Kong, Thailand, and Bangladesh, was very clear about where she didn’t want to go to school: England. She heard about Wooster from family friends who were Presbyterian missionaries and applied for a scholarship from the Women’s Advisory Board (WAB). She had never before seen the College when she arrived in 1984. The first member of her family to go to college, Gooch says she knows it wouldn’t have been possible without financial support from the WAB.
C
Gooch married her college sweetheart, Mark Gooch ’90, now a librarian at the College, and went on for a degree in social work. A social worker at the Wayne County Board of Developmental Disabilities, she joined the WAB seven years ago. “I always thought of the Board as a quiet group of ladies who work diligently behind the scenes. I had no idea until I joined them how much work they actually do,” she says. “Our passion is commitment to scholarship and supporting our international students. Because they have no families close by, we try to give them extra TLC, welcoming them into the community when they arrive and saying goodbye when they leave.” The Board’s services have expanded since Gooch was a student. She remembers, for example, that following graduation ceremonies, she and her family celebrated at a local restaurant. These days, international students and their families attend a WAB-sponsored reception at Babcock Hall. “I’m so happy to be helping with this reception,” says Gooch. “I love seeing the joy and excitement from both the students and their parents.” The scholarships that the Board provides, particularly to international women, are central to its mission, and “near and dear to my heart,” says Gooch. “Women in many thirdworld countries are second-class citizens. For a woman to come to the United States for education—and freedom—is really a wonderful thing.”
Photo and Story by
K A R O L
“Our passion is commitment to scholarship and supporting our international students.” CH E RYL G OOCH ’88
Women’s Advisory Board member Cheryl Gooch ’88 knows from personal experience how it feels to be helped by the group.
C R O S B I E
W I N T E R 2 0 1 2 Wooster 35
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Class Notes The “W” Association For 103 years, the “W” Association has supported Scots intercollegiate athletics, raised funds for the athletic program through the "W" Fund, and honored outstanding alumni athletes and others who have been outstanding supporters of the College’s athletic program.
The “W” Association, in formation in 1915. To learn more about today’s organization, go to http://woosteralumni.org. PHOTO: 1915 Index
1934
Elizabeth Lapham Wills 36500 Euclid Ave A255, Willoughby, OH 44094
1935
Viola "Vi" Startzman Robertson 4533 Hunters Chase Lane, Wooster, OH 44691 330-345-5733
1936 1937
Martha “Mollie” Tilock Van Bolt 2020 Glendale Ave., Flint, Mich. 48503-2111 (810) 233-5107, martha1937@comcast.net
Our class news for this reporting period is very brief. My call to Marian Binz Altmansberger was answered by her daughter who was celebrating Marian’s birthday with her. Marian reports that she is in good health and swims daily, but no longer drives. My call to Norvin Hein was answered by 36 Wooster W I N T E R 2 0 1 2
his son Chris ’79, whom I met in 2006 when he escorted Norvin to our 70th reunion. Norvin came to the phone and we chatted a bit about his current projects. He still lives in Bethany, Conn., and was enjoying a birthday dinner with Chris and friends. Betty (Lisa) Panetta’s son was with her for a birthday lunch at her retirement center in Rydal, Penn. Betty and I lived at Colonial on Beall during our freshman year, and I brought her up to date on three other “Colonialites” who are still living—Mary Engle Ehrich, Luella Sillaman Moffat, and Charlotte Beals Tasker. After a brief hospitalization, Betty Clepper Reyer is back in her home. She continues to be active in the affairs of her church. Because of his hearing problem, I keep in contact with Bob Andrews through mail and phone calls to his son Steve, a well-known auctioneer in the Wooster area. A temporary health problem made it necessary for Bob to move to the Walnut Hills Retirement Home in Walnut Creek, though he is now considering staying on there
permanently. He is still playing golf and is close enough to his old friends and family to have an active social life. I (Mollie) continue to enjoy life in Ann Arbor, Mich., near my son and daughter ( John ’68 and Margaret ’71). Occasionally I drive the 60 miles back to Flint to be with old friends, but I now have Ann Arbor friends with whom I share a variety of activities. Life is good!
1939 1940
Florence Dunbar Kerr 2128 NE 81st Place, Seattle, Wash. 98115 FDK05@hotmail.com
In August, I (Florence) heard from two class members. George Joseph reported that he is still blessed with good health. He plays golf four or five times a week, is active on the board of his homeowners association and does some work for the Las Vegas YMCA. Eric Boehm reported that three generations of Boehms, all living in Santa Barbara, Calif., have formed a working group that is heavily
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engaged in helping people and institutions write biographies that will be important to their family or business for generations to come. Eric invited me to visit, but I’m afraid my traveling days are over. The last time I talked to Beryl Imeson I was most impressed with what she had accomplished. She left Wooster after her father died in an automobile accident. Then she went to business school, started her own business, learned to fly, married another flier and was, at the time I called, learning to play the organ. She is a retired CPA. When I called this past September, I talked with her caretaker of seven years and learned that she is living at home in Kansas City. I received an email from Betty Olnhausen Cummings. She told me that she keeps busy playing bridge and golf. She noted that cooler weather has arrived, so she has put her golf clubs to bed for the winter. During the year, Betty takes part in a New Horizon program and a continuing education class, attends evening musical programs and attends weekly vesper services.
1941
Mary Wilcox Hughes 3880 Eastway Road South Euclid, Ohio 44118 mwoohughes@msn.com
The 10 of us who made it back for our 70th reunion in June will always remember the event with mixed feelings of anticipation and nostalgia for former times and for those no longer with us. We were housed in Gault Manor (a treat in itself ), and no matter what events we attended, the golf carts available day and night were much appreciated! Cart rides allowed us to relax and enjoy the new streetscape, landscaping, and buildings while chatting with the delightful student drivers. Whether it was supper at the Shack, breakfast at Lowry, a luncheon at Gault Alumni Center, the evening at Alfie Gabriel Campbell’s or banana splits and bluegrass on the academic quad, the food was excellent—definitely one for the memory book. I (Mary) had a long phone call from Laura Whinery, my reunion roommate. Sadly, her mother, Anne Carson Snyder, passed away in September. Fern Diaquila mentioned that her granddaughter, Chloe McFadyen ’15, a freshman this year, has a beautiful room in Douglass Hall. Mary Liz Ellis has had lots of company this summer, with visits from several grandchildren and a surprise visit from Marian Roller Chilson’s son David. David, Dorrie and
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Bob Haring’s son John, Paul Ellis, Barbara Dean, and Laura Whinery, or “the kids,” as we called them, were all at many of our events helping throughout reunion weekend. Dorrie and John are both doing well, though still missing Bob. Becky Moore recently planned to take the Judson Bus to Blossom Center to hear Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, but the bus got stuck in traffic and she arrived late. So many people were affected by the delay, however, that the conductor started the show over, so Becky was able to hear the whole program! I (Mary) attended the Nolletti family reunion last year. Arthur Nolletti Jr., grandson of Carlo and Nicolina Nolletti, told of the story I wrote about his family (published with our fall 2010 Class Notes), thus the invitation. There were about 105 in attendance this year, and it was a kaleidoscopic event. In the evening, everyone gathered in a prayer circle and told of the year’s deaths, births, engagements, etc., and with no warning, I was introduced and made an honorary member of the family! Such hospitality was amazing, and my son and I left feeling like we really belonged, much like the original two had made me feel so many years ago. Not every college campus can boast that type of camaraderie among students, faculty and staff that we had back then! I have been emailing Art and his lovely wife and daughter; I hope our friendship continues as long as possible. From Laura Whinery: “Just briefly, I had a wonderful time being with the ’41ers in June. My suitemates were the best, full of stories from Wooster days and the years beyond. In several quiet moments walking around, I thought of my parents and their memories of their classmates. I thank all of you who shared your Wooster magic with me.”
1942
Celia Retzler Gates 1446 Bellevue, Wooster, OH 44691 rlgcmg@sssnet.com
1943
Lois Wilson Miles Scott Schmied writes: “I just got back from a pleasant trip to France with my youngest daughter. We flew to Marseilles, saw Mont St. Michel (one of my lifelong dreams), and saw some of the wartime sights. We spent nearly two weeks in France, flying home from Paris. I’m sure it was my last overseas trip, although I hope to continue traveling within the States. I am happily married to Tom Schmied, who went to Cornell, not Wooster—though he did make
one trip to Wooster to see it. I do most of my foreign travel with my daughters, but Tom likes to make driving trips. We’ve lived in Colorado ever since we got married over 25 years ago. We’ve had a good life and are both in good health. I am pleased that I can still drive safely. For many years I was a stockbroker, but now I let the bank handle all my stock affairs. I just wanted to let all my classmates know that I am still around and would be happy to hear from any of you—I love to write letters!
1944
Russell “Russ” Haley 653 Medford Leas, Medford, NJ 08055 609-654-3653 elderguy44@yahoo.com
Bill and Pat Foxx ’46 were the first of our classmates to get back to me for this issue. They’re happy in their new retirement home, and agree that “older people are happier than younger people.” They are reportedly moving with sufficient grace as they approach 90. When they wrote to me, the Foxxs were looking forward to a Thanksgiving reunion in Arizona, with multiple generations in attendance, including at least one great-grandchild. For Christmas, they united with east coasters at son Hans’ house in Salisbury, Md. The winter season will find them in La Jolla, Calif. We wish them the energy they’ll need to complete their travels and have no doubts that they’ll be able to find it. I caught Al Linnell on the run again. Does he ever stand still? This time, he and Ann said they were leaving during the first part of October for a two-week Mediterranean cruise ending in Istanbul. Don Coates is knocking on wood in hopes that those seasonal hurricanes won’t hit Florida this year. His odds should be pretty good; the last time they hit his Bradenton, Fla., area was in 1921. Don is currently working on his fourth autobiographical volume – this one on retirement. His travel plans included a trip to his son’s South Carolina coastal condo where he was able to examine his son’s recently purchased small yacht. Before traveling, Don said “It will be good to be seaborne again,” referring to his Navy career during WWII. I had a note from Eloise Smith Van Niel in Hawaii saying that she enjoys our column but has no news to report this time. At least we know that her mind is clear, she is able to use her computer and she’s thinking of Wooster. Needless to say, all notes, even brief ones, are welcome. I had a note from Don Layton out in California asking about Hurricane Irene. It W I N T E R 2 0 1 2 Wooster 37
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ClassNotes seems it was occupying all of his news channels at the time he wrote. Don, an expert on lighter-than-air aircraft, supplies me with a steady stream of air-related information. I’ve become well informed on all aircraft, new and old. I (Russ) also hear from John Bender from time to time. He reports that he and Lois are coping successfully with the challenges of aging, a goal for all of us Class of 1944ers. Hope this finds you all coping successfully as well.
1945
Jeanne “Swanee” Swan Garnett 5310 Loruth Terr., Madison, WI 53711-2630 608-271-4943 jeannesgarnett@yahoo.com
Al Kean and his family had their 40th annual week at Lakeside this summer. While there, they came upon a lovely garden created in memory of Ruth Dornback Shie. She had only one year with us and then married Marvin Shie ’41. They had 11 children, a few of whom went to Wooster. This summer, Al and Beverly went with their daughter Beth ’75 to Wooster to attend the Ohio Light Opera. They took with them Beth’s pen pal of 52 years who was visiting from England. In 1970, the Kean family traveled to England to see her and the two families have been friends ever since. Al says he and Bev are still recuperating from their ailments—he with his broken hip and she with her broken back. We hope you are “mended” by now, Al. I, Swanee, had a great summer in Maine. My son Greg drove me back to Madison for Labor Day. I hope all of you had a good summer, too. Let me hear from you! Margie Goldsmith Hydorn and I had our annual lunch together in August, meeting halfway between our homes. It was a wonderful visit. Her daughter Liz and my sister, Dorothy Swan Reuman ’49, were with us. A few corrections to my Notes in the summer issue: Betty Stuckslager Towner’s children were incorrectly identified as Margie’s; Stucky lived at Margie’s house in the 50’s, while she hunted for a house for her family, not the other way around. My apologies.
1946
Sally Wade Olson 4209 Hoffman Dr., Woodbridge, VA 22193 oleysally@aol.com, 703-590-3465
I received a phone call from Marian Brown Carson, who is happily settled in a retirement village in Cary, N.C., where she works in the gift shop. It was good to get a note from John Penn in Morehead City, N.C. After coming 38 Wooster W I N T E R 2 0 1 2
In November, 2010, Helen Murray Free received the country’s highest honor given to scientists, engineers, and inventors. (See her accept the award at http://pubs.acs.org/cen/acsnews/89/8934acs1.html). PHOTO: Ryan K. Morris/National Science & Technology Medals Foundation
Helen Murray Free ’45 receives national awards Praised by President Obama for redrawing “the frontiers of human knowledge while enhancing American prosperity,” Helen Murray Free ’45 recently received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on scientists, engineers and inventors. She received the American Chemical Society’s 66th National Historic Chemical Landmark designation, and in September, was inducted (along with Coretta Scott King and Billie Holiday) into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, N.Y. The awards recognized Helen’s work in co-developing Clinistix—the first dip-andread diagnostic test strip for monitoring glucose in urine. The 1956 invention was a groundbreaking invention, because it allowed people with diabetes to monitor their glucose at home rather than at a doctor’s office. Helen and her husband, Alfred Free, also developed several other strips for testing levels of indicators for other diseases. Her dipand-read strips have made testing for diabetes, pregnancy and other conditions available in underdeveloped regions of the U.S. and foreign countries. Although Helen retired in 1982, she continued to work as a consultant for Bayer Diagnostics until 2007. She helped to raise awareness of the positive role chemistry has played in daily lives, especially after she was elected president of the ACS in 1993. She was the third of only seven female ACS presidents, and in 1995 the organization instituted an award in her honor: the Helen M. Free Award in Public Outreach. by Brooke Skiba ’14
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out of the Navy in 1947, he enrolled at Cornell University and graduated from Cornell's Hotel School. He was manager of Oakmont Country Club and the Carlson House in the Pittsburgh area and later worked in the Urban League Club in New York. A great letter from Liz Burket Kielbowicz shared that one of her sons was in the Marine Corps Marathon, as was my son Eric Olson ’76. Her two older children graduated from Wooster in ’75 and ’78. Allen Worrall wrote from Lakewood, Wash., where he moved in February after his retirement from his 45-year practice in ob-gyn. He and his wife have six children, and now lots of grandchildren and greatgrandchildren, whom they saw at a family reunion in Phoenix in September. He keeps busy with his computer, photography and amateur radio. On Sept. 10, I called Lila May Walkden Flounders, whose son was killed in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. She was to be interviewed on a local ABC station the next day. Wilma Conover Reed is still in Bellevue, Wash., and her move to Seattle is set for the spring. She keeps well, looking forward to the move with mixed feelings after many years in her home.
1947
Rhoe Benson
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did not consult one another about what they were writing, each co-author was a mother who had lost a child too early. The result is a book titled Focus, which asks the question, “How do you cope with the loss of a child?” Its purpose is to provide information to grief support groups. The book has been published in paperback, and I look forward to getting a copy—we have a budding author in our class! Congratulations, Doris. Peg Strouse Kiel, a member of our planning committee, lost her husband of 64 years in August. Our condolences to Peg. Anne Austin Murphy, who admits she has not been diligent about staying in touch with her Wooster classmates, explains that she has too many alumni associations to report to—among them are Wooster, Yale Divinity School, and the University of North Carolina, where she received a Ph.D. in political science. She is professor emeritus at Eckerd College. She had continued her friendship with Myra Vandersall Siegenthaler, who died Oct. 4, 2011 (see obituary, p. 63). They traveled together for half a dozen enjoyable adventures. Anne, meanwhile, is learning to live with Parkinson’s disease. Let’s keep her in our prayers. Please keep in touch, and keep aiming for June 7, 2012. We’ll be looking for you there.
803 E. Highland Ave., Wooster OH 44691 330-345-7548 liznrhoe@sssnet.com
1948
Our reunion committee met in September with the alumni staff—we have three days of activities planned for our 65th next year that I’m sure you won’t want to miss. We lined up accommodations, meals, parties, talk sessions, a parade, and a display room to remind us of our days at the College. To get the juices flowing before we all meet again, here are some things for you to ponder: How many of us have “downsized” in our plans? Or is it just in our vocabulary? How many of us could carry on lengthy “organ recitals” (health reports) but fight gallantly to limit their length? What did we wear on our legs at Wooster when it was really cold? All the snow photos show coeds in bare legs, socks, loafer or saddle shoes. Is it possible? How many of us married somebody we met at Wooster? Is there a special trip you’d recommend (that we can still handle)? Let me know your thoughts! Now for some news. Doris Buchanan, along with 17 others, has written a book. Each one wrote a chapter, and although they
802 S. 15th St., #1839, Sebring, OH 44672 evelynhewett@gmail.com
Evelyn Fischer Hewett No news is good news, except when it comes to class news! I have had no news from classmates, but we Hewetts have important news about ourselves. On Sept. 28 we moved to Copeland Oaks retirement complex in Sebring, Ohio. After 52 years in the home we built, it was difficult and tiring to sort out all our belongings. We will be seeing more of Don Swegan ’47 and Elizabeth James Burge, and maybe find another Woosterite or two. We would appreciate it if you would share your experiences on how to adjust to a similar move. Our new address is listed above. Send us a Christmas card or letter with news for the next issue. Betsy Sprenkle’s grand-daughter Elizabeth is spending a year in China teaching English and communication. When she and a group of students from around the U.S. arrived in Haining for a week’s orientation, one girl said she went to a little college you’ve never heard of—Wooster. But Elizabeth assured her she knew a lot about Wooster, as her grandmother
graduated from there. Small world! Elizabeth is assigned at Haining University and she has enjoyed her teaching.
1949
Evelynn Cheadle Thomas 6505 Sorrento Court, Dayton, OH 45459 eethomas@mailbug.com, Phone (937) 439-0260
1950
Janice “Jay” Wilson George 19476 N. Coyote Lakes Pkwy., Surprise, AZ 85374
So far I don’t know of any classmates who have been hit by the various natural disasters that have struck across the U.S. Arizona has had a very hot, dry several months with our disasters being mostly giant wildfires. One of these started near the Mexican border and worked its way north, destroying many homes in the area where John Eaton lives. When I did a welfare check on John, he responded from Michigan. His family had gathered there, where they had lived for many years, to have a memorial service for his wife, Mary “Tip” Anderson ’49, who died Apr. 1. John said that the fire came quite close, but spared his home. I’m sure that John enjoyed his cooler days while in Michigan. I (Jay) was able to have a few myself when I went with my travel club to New Mexico and stayed at a log cabin resort in the mountains. One day, we took a spectacular narrow gauge steam train ride in the mountains of southern Colorado. Seeing the many colors and formations of rocks there made me wish I’d taken a geology course while I was at COW! I was pleased to have a letter from Tom Bousman’s daughter, Peggy, reassuring me that he is doing well. Tom had two serious brain surgeries in 2009. In 2010, he moved to the assisted living area of his retirement complex, baptized his first great-grandson, and attended a family reunion at his family’s beach house in Ventura, a family tradition since he and Ellie celebrated their 50th anniversary. Tom enjoys chatting on the phone, and sounded hale and hearty when we spoke in September. I think Joan Brumbaugh Smith takes the award for the most far-flung family! Jo is very thankful to have a daughter and family nearby in Virginia, but also has a daughter farming in Hawaii; a son who was teaching in China, but now is in Guatemala; granddaughters in Colorado and New Mexico; and a son and family in Texas. Now that her numerous joint replacements are functioning, she’s enjoying bridge three nights a week and rejoined her local choral society in which she and Fran sang for many years. W I N T E R 2 0 1 2 Wooster 39
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WEDDING OF MICHAEL FRAZIER ’03 AND JENNIFER FEENSTRA IN PHILADELPHIA, PA., JULY 2010 L
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Darren Demaree ’03, Dan Roberts ’03, John Oswalt ’03, groom, bride, Hannah Gilman Jones ’03, Sarah Demaree x’05, Rachel Spehler ’04
Betty “Ike” Evans Anderson’s recent note told me of her birthday celebration in July. All three children and two grandchildren gathered at her son Scott’s home on a lake in South Carolina where tennis, golf, swimming and eating filled their days.
1951
Arthur Merrill arthurmerrill51@gmail.com Carol Hansen Carlson carlsonjc51@hotmail.com George and Lollie Peckham ’48 keep busy two days a week volunteering at ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization - www.echonet.org). Tropical food production is the group’s main focus, which helps boost development among the world’s poorest nations. They’ve been volunteering with ECHO for 15 years. Jeannine and Rodgers Spencer traveled to Israel and Jordan this spring. They had a wonderful trip seeing places that they had only read about. They said seeing Masada, and Petra and Jerash in Jordan, was wonderful. They now have a whole new appreciation for places mentioned in scripture. Larry Weiss reports that he and his partner, Jerry Bowles, spent their usual summer in Massachusetts, near Tanglewood. They played tennis, bridge, and went to endless concerts of the Boston Symphony and three professional theaters. Larry says the best was a spectacular production of “Porgy and Bess” in concert form with 12 professional singers, the Boston 40 Wooster W I N T E R 2 0 1 2
Chorale, and the Boston Symphony. Larry and Jerry returned home to St. Petersburg, Fla., in mid-October. Clarence Ammons reports, “The highlight of my summer was our 60th class reunion. It was the first time I had been on campus in 60 years, and encountering so many wonderful classmates after such a long time was indescribable. It was as if we had seen each other just yesterday. What a joy to be with so many old friends.” Web Lewis and wife Nancy left the North Carolina heat to vacation in the Ozarks (more heat), for their annual summer week with family from Weston, Mass. Over 300 attended this year’s family nature summit and next year it will be held in the cooler Colorado mountains. Ruth Ann Coleman Davis writes: “On Labor Day, Joel and I returned from an art and antiques road show on a transatlantic voyage, a 16-day Road Scholar program held on the Queen Mary II. The ship sailed from New York to Southampton, England, then back to NYC. On our day in England, we visited the Petworth Estate, known for its outstanding collection of paintings and sculpture. In the afternoon and evenings we were free to enjoy the music, lectures, planetarium shows, movies and stage productions available on the ocean liner. We enjoyed elegant service and meals, and the eight black tie evenings certainly simplified dressing decisions for Joel!” Max Selby attended the annual convention of the Destroyer Escort Sailors Association in Philadelphia, and a reunion with some of his
old shipmates (all two of them) from the U.S.S. Joyce. “The day after the convention I did something I’ve always wanted to do— skydive. I went to a little airport south of Philly and did it! I did a tandem jump from 13,700 feet, freefall to 5,000 and then opened the chute and floated to the ground. Figured that at 81 I’d better get it out of my system. It’s done and I don’t think I’ll be doing it again anytime soon. I loaded the video of the jump on YouTube.” Watch his jump here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CazJAPwO kso Ann Kershner Wood has slowly begun hiking again after hip surgery. She keeps busy going to lectures and classes and attending symphony performances. Here’s an update on Marge Hulett Evert. Marge left Wooster after her junior year. She subsequently earned her degree in chemistry at the University of Cincinnati, and some years later earned her MBA. She then taught classes in finance for 17 years at Xavier University. Currently, she volunteers with an environmental group monitoring a chemical plant for pollution. Heather Beck Southwick will send particulars about Chuck ’49 and her work on two conservation projects to the class of ’49 secretary. We can read their news there. Mariwyn Somers has just celebrated her “68th” birthday again. Wyn decided she wasn’t going to age past 68, so I faithfully send her 68th birthday card each year. Wyn sent my info on our 60th reunion to Ruth Haney Hummel who resides in Stow, Ohio.
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TIME IN THE SUN TO R: Meg (Hall) McCroskey ’99 and sons Carter and Greyson, and Kate (Messer) Dulac ’99, son Owen, and twins Teddy and Layla near Saranac Lake, New York.
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< VISIT TO VIRGINIA’S GREAT DISMAL SWAMP TO R : Andrew Belding, Jesse Studer, Andi Engel, Kerry Petersen ’03s
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Finally, Jack and I (Carol) just celebrated our 60th wedding anniversary. Our children and grandchildren surprised us with a party at a marina on the Mississippi. The weather was great, food was wonderful, boat rides delightful; joy in our family abounds.
1952
Warren M. Swager Jr. P.O. Box 555, Sheridan, MT 59749-0555 wcswager@3rivers.net
1953 Nona S.Taylor 110 Echo Way, Statesboro, GA 30458 nst3c@nctv.com
Dr. Bob Baab, a retired anesthesiologist, celebrated his birthday in Pocatello, Idaho, enjoying his daughter Samantha’s family, as well as some of Yellowstone National Park’s spectacular wildlife. Sam’s husband, a professor of wildlife management at Idaho State University, conducted a family tour of the park. Bob’s wife, Rose Marie, plus another daughter and her son, helped Bob celebrate the big day. Then it was home to Wooster to enjoy the Ohio Light Opera season with other physicians from Bob’s medical school class and to share monthly breakfast meetings with his Smithville High School classmates. On his rare idle moments, Bob communes with his cat Raisin, surname: Cain. With Hurricane Irene having drenched
New England, I called Mary Jane Reimer Washburn to learn if she and Knight were adrift in the “Sea of Vermont.” They were safe at home near Middlebury, though damage was widespread. Despite recent radiation following delicate surgery for Knight and a fourth pacemaker for Mary Jane, both enjoy their retirement location. Mary Jane and Knight sing with a spiritual gospel choir directed by Middlebury’s vocal artist in residence, Francois Clemens. The choir sometimes sings for memorial services at the local hospice, at which both Washburns volunteer. Mary Jane keeps in touch with many Wooster friends and family. She reports that her brother Niles ’51 and his wife Ann Dickason Reimer ’52, who were agricultural missionary evangelists in Ethiopia, still return frequently to translate and teach. She stays in touch with Anne Stebbins, Vivian Hughes and Jim ’52, Marge Tadder and Georgia Leary Weber. September was filled with recollections of 9/11. “Bobby” Langdon Clayton, who was living in New Jersey close to the chaos, lost two church friends in the attack. Bobby continues as a Stephen minister in her Lutheran church, offering confidential counsel and comfort to those who need it. She is presently on the board of trustees of the church’s Good News Home for Women, an alcohol and drug rehabilitation facility. Her basement remains a repository for useful medical supplies left over from hospice patients, which she sends to patients in Ecuador.
Marcia Orr volunteers on the board of the children’s library and media room at her church, working now on how best to use the facility. She continues her long-standing membership in her AAUW book group. Two of her and Don’s grandchildren are now in college. I had a lovely phone visit with Jim McCullough about his late wife Molly. Although they lived in Florida for many years, Molly, Jim and their children loved areas of New York. Family and many friends in both places attended memorial services for Molly. Her Meals on Wheels ministry had developed into Helping Hands, a food kitchen and emergency “bank” of which Molly had been treasurer for 15 years. She was a fulltime professional librarian, a substitute teacher and a mother of five. Jim and Molly also have 10 beloved grandchildren. Had Molly lived four more weeks, she and Jim would have celebrated 58 years of marriage. Everyone who knew Molly will miss her greatly
1954
Sylvia Buttrey Huning-Tillotson 99 Ascension Dr., Apt. J107, Asheville, NC 28806 sylhuning@yahoo.com
1955
Nancy Mutch Donald 161 Lake Breeze Park Rochester N.Y. 14622 nomodonald@yahoo.com
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BREWHOUSE TRIATHLON L
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Elizabeth Caviglia Bugbee ’94, Paul Anson Caviglia and Erik Riker-Coleman ’95s, before the start of the 25th Brewhouse Triathlon in Duluth, Minn. Says Paul: “All of us are former swimmers, making the first portion relatively easy. It’s the second and third legs that were difficult.”
Frances “Fran” Bauer Parker 715 S. Webster St., Jackson, MI 49203 fparker99@comcast.net
1956
Pat Young 464 E. Highland Ave., Wooster, OH 44691-9249 Pjyoung52@sssnet.com
On a trip to upstate New York, Bob and Hope Black, Tom and Jane Johnson, and Jan Grim and I (Pat Young) spent an evening with Dick Adams and his wife Liz. Dick and Liz live in a winterized cottage in a lovely setting on Lake Seneca, N.Y. While at Wooster, Dick was enrolled in the Wooster M.I.T. program. This led to an aerospace engineering career which included working on the design of launch vehicles for early satellite launches and manned space flight. In 1972, he and Liz opened a bookstore in Ithaca, where they worked until 2002. Retirement led them to their present lakeside home, where they fish, swim and sail. They are also involved in a nonprofit outlet in Ithaca called Ten Thousand Villages that sells fair trade crafts. The Blacks, the Johnsons, Jan and I stayed in Geneseo, N.Y., for three days while we explored the area. Our activities included a canal boat ride through the locks of the Erie Canal near Lockport, a trip on the “Maid of the Mist” at Niagara Falls, a visit to the Glenn Curtis Museum, a trip to the Corningware facility, and seeing the gorge and the beautiful waterfalls at Leftwich State Park. We wrapped up our days by trying out several very good restaurants in the area. 42 Wooster W I N T E R 2 0 1 2
1957
Anne K. Johnson 78 White Tail Rd.,Murphysboro, IL, 62966 ajohnson@globaleyes.net
Will Lange willem.lange@comcast.net
From Anne: Here are a few bits of my life in retirement: I expected to be a grandmother many years ago; both of my children are in their 40’s, and finally, two years ago, one of them had a baby boy. The even better news is that I will have two more grandchildren in the next three months! These events are keeping me on the walking and YMCA regimen. I’m also keeping my brain alive: I am a member of the board of trustees for our county library. I regularly serve on the county board of appeals as an alternate and thoroughly enjoy investigating the issues and the law. In the past, I worked on a Land Use and the Comprehensive Plan update for our county as a member of the Mid-Shore League of Women Voters. Like many of our generation, I’ve survived a few health problems, but thanks to good treatment and a mechanical heart valve, I hope to be able to enjoy my family and be a contributor to my community for years to come. Alice (Cris) Kresensky Cunningham wrote that she was in Maine for the summer where she visited Tom Justice. They’ve acted in summer theater productions there since 2007, and were both in a production of “Young At Heart.” Tom acted in “Who’s on First?” with a 95 year-old actor in the area. Cris and Tom jitterbugged with others in “Rock Around the Clock.” She writes: “It was really fun. We’ve had a lot of hot days for Maine, but nothing like Texas, so I can’t complain. We’ve also seen
Conrad Putzig from New York. All the best to everyone! See you next year at the reunion.” From Will: “We were saddened to learn of the death of classmate Ken Plusquellec. Many of us recall the pleasant get-togethers we had at Ken and Louise’s house during reunions. He served the College faithfully for more than 30 years.” Kay Demmon Cilimburg and Bob have been traveling to see family in California, Montana and New York, and stayed with Selma O’Meara twice this summer. Peg Williams Stoops is back on the family farm in Pennsylvania after more than 25 years in California. She sang in the Harrisburg Choral Society for years, and now spends Tuesday evenings in a mindfulness meditation group. She’s an office assistant at the Pennsylvania Council on Independent Living in Harrisburg. She visits her three children in Nevada, Oklahoma and Texas. Darrell Scattergood has been kayaking the beautiful lakes of the pacific northwest, and sent an account of a nostalgic visit to an “Eden-like” lake he’d taken his scout troops to many years ago. At the time he wrote, he was planning yet another nautical odyssey. If you want to know more about where he’s been paddling, he encourages classmates to email him for details. Terry Bard writes that his and Gretchen’s (Mayer) granddaughter, Eliza Somsel ’15, is now a freshman at Wooster, and is the fourth generation of the family to attend. He’s busy with volunteer and part-time employment, and is president of Michigan Shores Cooperative, a senior independent living facility. Gretchen also does volunteer work. Both of them are involved in a nontraditional spiritual community, which they find exhilarating. Mike Carter and his wife June Krejcu Carter ’59 celebrated their 50th anniversary on Captiva Island, Fla., with their children, spouses and four grandchildren. Mike’s been leading groups of doctors and dentists to rural areas of Honduras twice a year for weeklong mission trips. In February, they will be making their 25th trip and hope to include some current Wooster students. Should anyone be interested in learning about these trips, contact him at mikecarter@hughes.net. Kathie Wilson writes that she and her husband, Bill, have just made some major changes. In August, they sold the Georgetown, Colo., house where they’ve lived for the past 18 years and moved to Chapel Hill, N.C., where their daughter and her family live. “Although we’ve made a major move, we think we’ll be happy here,” she writes. “The Research Triangle area has a lot to offer and the proximity to shopping, medical facilities and family will make life
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easier. That’s important, as Bill has Parkinson’s disease. We don’t know what lies in store in the coming years, but so far the progression has been relatively slow. Our new contact information is: 205 Kirkwood Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, 919-869-7147, kmwilson611@gmail.com.” Jim Gwynne sent a great note that brought back memories of night-climbing days (He was our official artist). He recently published two beautiful books of his paintings. See them at www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/j/jgwynne. “I live in E. Stroudsburg, Pa.,” he writes, “and am beginning my 40th year of teaching at County College of Morris in Jersey, my 48th year overall. I spent two years at Wooster followed by six at Centenary College in Hackettstown, N.J. I still paint and exhibit – I’m associated with the Marion Royael Gallery in Beacon, N.Y., and I have had a couple shows there in the past couple of years.” Ned Wolfe “retired at the end of 1998 from a happy career with the U.S. Geological Survey that included studies in Kentucky, western Washington, northern California and north-central Arizona. There were also a few years devoted to geologic support for the Apollo landings on the moon, active volcano and geologic studies in Hawaii and the Cascade Range, a taste of Alaska's 1989-90 eruption of Redoubt Volcano, and a brief but intense involvement in the 1991 eruption of Pinatubo in the Philippines.” Ned and his wife, Rita, live in lovely Prescott, Ariz., surrounded by extended family. He sings in a barbershop quartet, plays bridge and is involved in “the contentious central Arizona issues: prodigious population growth vs. overcommitted water resources and a very real resulting threat to the sustainability of Arizona's Verde River.” And you thought you were busy! Glenn Cronin retired from full-time ministry in 1998 and has since been “busy doing interim work as the Lord leads.” He’s been to Russia four times and India once, teaching in Bible colleges. When he wrote, he had three weeks to go in teaching his comparative religions class at the local community college. Jean Garrett Strojan writes: “I just returned from my second trip to Alaska, a trip designed to go to Nome and retrace the steps of my mother, who taught school there in the mid sixties. I found two of her former fourth grade students. Then I returned to Anchorage, picked up a rental car and drove 1,600 miles through incredibly awesome country. Fall in Alaska has no equal!” Anne Eubank Jolliff wrote about “the terrible drought. The only rain at the ranch came the day the house roof was down to tarpaper during the replacement of the ancient
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tin; consequently, the ceilings had to be repainted. At least we still have a house! These massive wildfires have destroyed so many homes, woods and animals. We've been lucky, but the land is so dry that the anxiety is still high. One positive note: without water, there's no temptation to waste time in the cleaning! The highlight of the year was a three week trip to India leading to numerous comparisons and contrasts to China.” Margaret Luce Young’s children treated her and her husband, Sandy, to a weekend at Williamsburg to celebrate their 50th anniversary (see photo, pg. 48). Selma Hokanson O’Meara writes: “It’s been five years since Bob passed away and it has been a very hard adjustment, as many of you have experienced. I continue in our church with my friends of nearly 40 years. I used to lead the dance in worship choir for many years until my granddaughter became the leader. While teaching Spanish in a nearby high school for 18 years, I took students on many trips to Mexico and Spain. I continue to swim regularly, though I no longer coach synchronized swimming. Our three adult children are all into sailing, canoeing, and boating, as Bob and I were, and provide me with the fun of visiting them at a Cape May beach house and New York and New Hampshire lake cottages. The 10 grandchildren are enjoyable. My volunteer work is mostly with church and rescue mission cooking, but I have also tutored in Spanish. I am fortunate to be part of many study groups at church and in our community. Yoga has replaced downhill skiing in the last year, but I still maintain extensive flower gardens. I have enjoyed several minireunions and will always be grateful that I met so many wonderful and supportive friends at Wooster. Buena suerte—good luck. Buena salud—good health.” “Life is good!” write Dick and Joyce Apple Evans. “We’ve tried to make the most of it by traveling in the States and Europe. Most of our trips involved bicycling. We started by taking grandchildren on local paths and later trips in Vermont. Then Wooster's alumni office sponsored a biking trip in Austria. We’ve since made eight trips to Europe and Hawaii. At home, we’ve enjoyed our three children and ten grandchildren. Joyce has been Clerk of Session for our church for more than 25 years. Dick is involved with Habitat for Humanity and has worked on 14 houses.” Here in Vermont, Ida and I (Will) somehow manage to keep occupied. She organizes the many lunches, banquets and soup kitchens at our church, and still designs an occasional kitchen. I’ll be working on our new house and barn until I die, and probably still won’t have it all done. I still do my outdoor show for New
Hampshire Public Television, “Windows to the Wild,” (you can Google it and watch online), write my newspaper column, which hasn’t missed a week in 30 years, record commentaries for Vermont Public Radio, and publish a book every year or two. Daily walks in the park and Pilates keep me moving. Last summer my group of friends and I took our 13th canoe trip to northern Canada, ending with three days along the Arctic coast. I agree with Dick and Joyce: Life is good!
1958
Nana Newberry Landgraf 2927 Weymouth Rd., Shaker Heights, OH 44120 nwl9@sbcglobal.net
In August and September, an earthquake in the eastern U.S. and tropical storm Irene suggested a common theme of severe nature events. That is the case, but other material supervened, reminding me (Nana) of the larger theme of mutual caring for all our classmates. From Dennis Barnes in Charlottesville, Va.: “The 5.8 quake, centered near the rural town of Mineral, Va., about 30 miles from Charlottesville, was felt from South Carolina to Canada. At about 2 p.m. we felt what I thought was a badly unbalanced load of wash on the spin cycle.” From Lillie Trent in downtown Washington, D.C.: “My daughter Evelyn and I were in a cantina buying fish sandwiches when the floor began to shake as if one were on a cruise in turbulent waters. We went around the corner to Evelyn’s barber, who said his floor shook and the ceiling looked as if it were going to crumble and fall in! Many D.C. buildings suffered structural damage.” From Cathy Tisinger in Winchester, Va.: “Little was felt, little was hurt, little was damaged—I was asleep on the couch when it shook slightly, then some of the furniture rattled for a second or so. My husband was on the interstate and unaware of any problem until he got home—he thought I was crazy!” From Pat Gerber Simmons in Rockville, Md.: “Sitting by the side of my condo pool, watching my grand-niece learn to swim, I felt a significant jolt, then continuing tremor. Within minutes, a message from my niece’s husband confirmed our guess that we had been through an earthquake! But we continued to enjoy the beautiful day.” From Alan Peabody in Cleveland, Ohio: “For me, on the third floor of Cuyahoga Community College, it was a moving experience!” Mary Jane Thompson in New York City relived the drama of the extremely strong quake she experienced in 1975 in Guatemala. Regarding Irene, Nancy Calderwood Carleton (Scituate, Mass.) and Sandy Sanders W I N T E R 2 0 1 2 Wooster 43
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WEDDING OF EMILY SCHADLER ’03 & SCOTT GREENAWAY ’00, AUGUST 2009 TO R, BACK ROW Brendan Callahan ’03 MIDDLE ROW Tim Cummings ’97, Brendan McCabe ’99, Colleen Call ’04, Sarah Strickler ’02, bride, groom, Aaron Woloff ’00, Emily Welty ’00, Caitlin Shipps Steele ’99 FRONT ROW Zoey Woloff, Zachary Woloff
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Breuer (Williamsburg, Va.) both tell of long power outages. Nancy says: “The scariest thing to me at the height of the storm was watching the trunk of the oak tree by our house, too big for me to get my arms around, flexing and swaying all the way down to the ground.” Tom McCullough (Dennis, Mass.) called Irene a non-event in comparison with the great hurricane of 1938. “The black walnut tree in our backyard lost a lot of its yield, but our grandsons were on hand to scoop up 848, at a penny each.” He and Judy Pennock McCullough are home as of June from Judy’s stint as interim pastor in Chicago at North Park Church. In Chicago, they saw Bruce and Anne Gieser Hunt, Bruce and Mary Rigdon, Don “Cash” Register ’59 and wife Dolores. We have one classmate in Vermont, Caroline Fix Strauss, in tiny Moretown on the Mad River. I reached Caroline by phone—44 of 50 houses in the town were lost. Caroline and her husband Ed live in one of the six remaining. She has some survivor’s guilt, but their whole backyard, which they spent 40 years making into their “Eden,” is scoured flat. Caroline is upbeat about the community and warm with gratitude. Everyone, no matter how needy, is busy helping others, and the National Guard helped enormously, she says. Thoughts from Japan, from Julie Jerabek Fukuda in Tokyo: “This has certainly been a year for natural disasters. For modern man who likes to be in charge of things, it is a good reminder to keep something higher in mind. My children, who have grown up with earth44 Wooster W I N T E R 2 0 1 2
quakes and typhoons as regular events, took the East coast events as rather ho-hum. They were not so ho-hum about Japan’s nuclear disasters and wanted us to leave. I pray all my classmates are well and the recent events have brought them only interesting tales to tell.” Related thoughts: Alan Peabody reports that the lines of storms that hit Cleveland last summer avoided Cleveland Heights, where he lives. Cathy Tisinger, who lives in the Shenandoah Valley, writes that the area’s beautiful caves were spared from earthquake damage. Paul Reeder on George McClure: “When George sent an email around a few months ago saying that his Parkinson’s disease was in its final stages, Rachel and I decided to visit George and Lynne ’62 in Santa Rosa, Calif., before his condition got any worse. I’m glad we went; we had a wonderful visit. We ate meals, shared pictures, watched videos, played games and talked. George has known about his Parkinson’s for nine years. He has had excellent treatment, but there is no cure, and the treatment merely delays the inevitable. He has accepted the situation with full understanding and apparently no anger or resentment. The timing of this visit was good because George’s mind is still strong, but I was also able to share and appreciate the struggles he has to live with at the present time.” Larry Rupp participated in the 2012 Conference “Saving the Future,” an institute on religion in an age of science. Check it out at: http://www.iras.org/Welcome.hyml
In August, Sylvia Gibbs Spearman and her husband Bill made a fly-in fishing expedition 1,200 miles north of their Colorado home. At ages 75 and 84, they asked, “Can we still do this? Just how crazy are we?” From Creighton, Saskatchewan, they flew in an Otter seaplane over the Precambrian shield and forest to a narrow stretch of land between Golden and Jones Lakes. “It was fun to catch, and release, many beautiful walleye and scrappy northern pike! They did it, and they’re not too crazy! Last Alumni Weekend Bob McMillan Thompson and wife Sandy sat at dinner with Bob Laubach, ’41, son of Frank Laubach, the founder of “Each One Teach One.” Over dinner, Bob Thompson absorbed the interesting tales Bob Laubach had to tell.
1959
Phil & Winnie Myers Rohrbaugh 1916 Maplewood Drive, Cedar Falls, Ia 50613 philwin@cfu.net
Don “Cash” and Dolores Register write that they started “a journey of a thousand miles” on Sept. 12, celebrating 48 years of marriage. Their itinerary included a challenging trip through the province of Ontario, Canada, and New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Then, they’ll be heading home through Maryland, D.C., Ohio, and Indiana. They hope to see many of you along the way. Young Jo Kim and his wife recently took a
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weeklong cruise to Alaska. They saw the midnight sun at Skagway and immense glaciers up north. Young Jo returned to Summit College of the University of Akron for his 48th year of teaching—maybe after 50 years he’ll finally call it quits! Roger Ramseyer reports: “Jack Garrison, who started in our class, is now living in Portland, Ore., with a summer home in California. He owned several nautilus training facilities and is now living the good life. He is planning to come back to Ohio this summer, hopefully for our Wooster men’s golf outing, our group of Wooster athletes who have been meeting for years in Wayne County to play. Included in the group are Don Dixon ’58, Harry Weckesser ’51, Gary Grimes ’58, Al Van Wie ’52, and on occasion, Coach Moore and myself. This year we will miss Dan Thomas ’60, who passed away recently. Life is great when you are spending time with COW friends. I continue to work every day running my businesses and developing new products. My newest projects are two garden hoes I invented, which I am in the process of getting patents for. My three books continue to sell very well.” We (Phil and Winnie) were fortunate enough to spend a day at the Chautauqua Institute with Ron and Josette Rolley. A few days later, we ate dinner and had a quick sailboat outing with Dave and Peg Lenderking Hale in Brockport, N.Y. The Rolleys then left for two weeks to stay in a cabin on an island in Canada. They had good food, good company and cool temperatures—a relief from the heat of this summer. Afterwards they left for three weeks in Ireland. Susanne Fox reports that she escaped significant damage and had no loss of power from the hurricane and earthquake. June Krejcu Carter and Mike Carter ’57 report from Galena, Ohio: June is still very involved with the Humane Society of Delaware County and animal rescue, a recent rescue being a pot-bellied pig. Mike has organized and made 24 trips on medical missions to Honduras. June is retired from teaching, but does talk to scout and school classes regularly about kindness to animals and the importance of spaying and neutering. They hope to visit Wooster in the fall.
1960
Vicky Fritschi 16 King Philip Tr., Norfolk, MA 02056-1406 vickyfritschi@gmail.com
Joe Alderman’s invitation to his 80th birthday party included a picture of him that originally appeared in the 1959 Index showing him in his armor as Section One’s candidate
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for King of Dog Patch. (He won the competition!) The invitation said, “Joe, our knight in shining armor, is turning 80! No birthday suits; no birthday gifts.” About 40 friends and family members joined him and Barbara Frederick Alderman (of Hello, Dolly fame at our reunion) for the occasion. They celebrated with food, drinks, fun, cake, more pictures of Joe in armor, and—as a special gift from his friends—homemade peach ice cream. Ruth Griffiths Doyle wrote to say that reading about people who attended Woodstock School in India in the summer issue of Wooster prompted her to share her own experiences. She attended Woodstock School beginning with kindergarten at age four. Like Dave Dickason, she was ‘bussed’ to school in the Himalayas in a basket backpacked by a porter. After the first year her feet took over. Her siblings Dave Griffiths ’55 and Marian Griffiths Demcisak ’61 also attended. Ruth enjoys church activities, knitting, and reading. She had a series of tests done some years ago to analyze her personality and abilities, and the results indicated that she was a good candidate for being a “perpetual student.”
She earned a living as a public health nurse; now that she is retired, she is trying to catch up. Joan Tignor Tiernan wrote about events that have enriched her life: “First of all, my husband, Joe, and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary in March with a trip to Hawaii with Road Scholar, just at the time when the tsunami from Japan passed through Hawaii. We were near the area where the volcano was erupting, so we had to be careful where we went, and there was a small earthquake. In spite of all the natural events, we had a great time, marveled at the beauty of the different islands and soaked up the wealth of information our knowledgeable guides imparted. Previously, we had been to India with Overseas Adventure Travel, a wonderful trip in many ways but a very unsettling one also because of all the poverty. The Taj Mahal was spectacular, as beautiful as the pictures portray it. Last November, we took a trip to Vietnam, which was one of the best trips we have taken. Both of my parents graduated from Wooster, as did my two older brothers, Bob
Love Wooster? Want to make a difference?
A charitable gift annuity may be just right for you.
If you’re 60 years old or more, you can give and receive the benefits.
Benefits of a charitable gift annuity
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FIXED INCOME FOR LIFE
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MAKE A DIFFERENCE for a student at
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To learn more: The Office of Development, The College of Wooster • 330-263-2080 development@wooster.edu • www.woosterplannedgifts.org
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WEDDING OF ADAM MYERS ’94 AND MELISSA DUNFEE, OCT. 23, 2010, STRASBURG, OHIO L
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Paul Kinney ’95, groom, bride, David Stouffer, ’94, Megan Hout Santangelo ’94 BACK ROW Stephen McMillan ’93, David DiLuzio ’94, Summer Koladin Plantz ’96, Michael Rachita ’92, Virginia Osgood Hudson ’97(holding Olivia), Jason Hudson ’94 (holding Evan), Steven Marroulis ’93, Alan Schwartz ’95, Christopher Brown ’94, Carolyn Kiss Rachita ’93.
’55 and Dick ’58. My youngest brother John attended for two years. I am grateful for the fine education I received from the College.” Ruth Parsons Martin announced a newer, corrected version of her translation of the New Testament from the original Greek on her blog, www.pioneernt.wordpress.com. She still hopes to do a Greek index if she “can ever figure out how to do accents, breath marks, and subscripts on the computer!”
1961
Larry Vodra 51 High Ridge Rd., Brookfield, CT 06804-3517 JLVodra@aol.com
In the last issue of Wooster, I outlined some of the things that happened to the 381 of us during our first week at Wooster, in early September 1957. During the following four years, we witnessed many “lasts” at the College. These included the last basketball game coached by the legendary “Mose” Hole, the last Faculty Review, the last faculty play, the demolition of the old gym (which led to the first and only dean-of-men-led panty raid in the school’s history), Dr. Delbert Lean’s 50th and last reading of A Christmas Carol, and “Ma” Golder’s retirement in June 1960. There was almost no inflation during the four years we were in college. Movies at the theater downtown were 50 cents, hot dogs and hamburgers were 15 to 25 cents, a 7 ounce fountain Coke was five cents, regular gas was 31 cents a gallon (and they cleaned your windshield and checked under the hood), and if you didn’t have a car, you could ride the privately owned Wooster bus for 15 cents. Let’s look at what else happened since 46 Wooster W I N T E R 2 0 1 2
1957. In the four years before our class graduated, we lost 177 classmates due to transfers, marriage, or in some cases, taking a year or two off. That meant that on the day we graduated, June 12, 1961, there were 110 men and 94 women who received their diplomas, which was 54 percent of those who started. Since 1961, 42 of the original class of 381 have passed away (11 percent) and another 54 (14 percent) we’ve lost track of. The good news is that we had 98 classmates at our reunion last June (including some of the 177 who left prior to graduating), plus a lot of spouses and friends from other classes. One final note to those of you who were unable to attend our reunion: Enough memory books were printed for everyone in the class to receive one. Contact the alumni office if you want one— they’re free!
1962
Jane Arndt Chittick 192 Valencia Lakes Dr., Venice, Fl. 34292 jachits@sbcglobal.net
A reunion update from our class president “Kitty” (Kathleen) Kelly Johnson: I returned in September from another meeting of our 50th anniversary committee. We will be staying at Luce, a newer dorm that is air-conditioned. As guests of the College, our lodging there will be free. Our class will also be dinner guests of the Cornwells on Thursday evening, giving us a special opportunity to spend time with Wooster’s current president and his wife, Peg. The committee is excited and looking forward to celebrating our 50th reunion with you June 7-10. See you there!
Following graduation from Wooster, Wayne A. Bowman got married and earned a master’s in organic chemistry from Wesleyan University. In 1964, he took a job with Eastman Kodak in Rochester, N.Y., as a research polymer chemist. During 33 years in Kodak’s research labs, Wayne authored 61 patents. Upon retirement in 1997, he moved to Medina, Ohio. He has a blended family of EIGHT children, 18 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Wayne serves in various leadership roles at his church. “Bing” Freeman and Linda Schoelles Cardall settled in Delaware shortly after graduation. Bing worked at IBM, retiring in 1995 as a senior systems engineer before moving on to First Data Corp., where he served as director of systems development, until his final retirement in 2007. He is now learning Italian at the Lifelong Learning Institute in Wilmington. Linda discovered porcelain painting as an outlet for self-expression and creativity when her children were young, and she has worked in that medium ever since. About 15 years ago, she became a selfemployed seller of some of her pieces–large hanging tiles, bowls and vases. Linda currently serves as president of the Southern New Jersey Porcelain Painters organization and is a member of the Mid-Atlantic Porcelain Artists. Their two children are native Delawareans and live nearby. Bing and Linda participate in ballroom dancing classes and travel. They became heavily involved with the Special Olympics program years ago when their autistic son, Matthew, started to participate. For years Carl W. Cotman, professor of neurology and neurobiology and behavior at the University of California at Irvine, has
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focused his attention on researching successful aging and reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Currently, he is leading a national clinical trial to look at the role of exercise in improving cognition in those who suffer mild cognitive impairment. He has authored more than 800 publications and has won numerous national and international awards for his research. Founder of the UC Irvine Institute for Memory Impairment and Neurological Disorders, Carl practices what he preaches by using his brain and staying physically active as an amateur oil painter, tennis player and gardener. He is the father of four children, all of whom live close by. A year ago, Tom Griffith ended a 40year career as an art teacher at Oakwood Junior and Senior High School in Dayton, Ohio, serving as chair of the fine arts department since 2002. After graduating from Wooster, he attended The Ohio State University, receiving a B.S. in art education with additional extensive coursework in entomology, a lifelong interest. Now, with more time, he enjoys reading and spending time with his four cats, sister, and nephew. E. Perry Hicks earned a master’s degree in social science education from Duke University and an Ed.D., also in social science education, from the University of Rochester. He then taught at the University of Buffalo for 10 years. He pursued his interest in financial planning and is the coowner of Swain Hicks Financial Group, a financial planning firm in Pittsford, N.Y. Perry and his wife Laura have five children, including James D. Hicks ’91 and Rebecca H. Hicks ’05, and seven grandchildren. Perry serves on the board of directors of the Y.M.C.A. and has been president of the Canandaigua Chamber of Commerce. Perry has traveled to Japan, Hawaii, around the continental U.S., and to Africa. As the training coordinator for Republic Steel and J & L Specialty Steel Inc., where he worked for 35 years, Scott H. Kanney was in charge of the technical training of the company’s in-house mechanical and electrical repairmen. After he retired in 2001, Scott began looking for some part-time work. A church contact mentioned an opportunity with Mentos, where Scott now for the 10th year, continues to enjoy his second career as a part-time sales representative. After Wooster, Scott earned a B.S. in education from Kent State. He lives in Canton, Ohio near his daughter, Jennifer Kanney Beebe ’92, and two grandsons, with whom he shares a love of sports. Scott keeps active with jogging, bicycling and travel. In 2005, Sylvia Lewis Kelley retired
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from Laredo Community College after having taught English there for 35 years. Sadly, Sylvia’s husband of 31 years, Pat, died of a heart attack the following year. Sylvia moved to Pipe Creek, Tex., a small town near San Antonio and Bandera, which calls itself the “cowboy capital of the world.” “It’s very different from my suburban New York upbringing.” There, Sylvia is active in Creative Crafters at the Silver Sage Senior Center, the Riverside Players theater group and the Pipe Creek Presbyterian Church. Sylvia reports that she gets to spend summers in Norman, Okla., with her daughter, son-in-law, and two granddaughters. Recently Sylvia and a friend took a cruise around the British Isles, which included stops in Scotland for MacLeod plaid souvenirs. She’s looking forward to our 50th reunion.
1963
Ron Eggleston 5932 Vienna Way, Lansing, MI 48917 reggleston41@gmail.com
Marian “Meg” Gelinas Horn has been living in Canada’s Yukon for many years and is now a consultant with the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce. She and her husband bought a retirement home in Lantzville, British Columbia, where they will move in a few years. She wishes she could attend the reunion, but the demands of her job and finances will probably make that impossible. In August, Alan Sorem retired from his pastorate at an inner city Presbyterian Church in Frankfort, Ken. He enjoyed a blowout celebration and has been able to travel and relax a bit. He is planning to attend the 2013 reunion. For many years, Judy Mack Patterson has been an attorney with KidsVoice, a Pittsburgh advocacy agency that serves abused, abandoned and vulnerable children. Using a multidisciplinary approach, the agency links staff attorneys with in-house specialists in social work, mental health, education, child development and case management to come up with solutions for children in need. The agency also advocates for changes in laws and adequate funding for children’s issues. Judy plans to continue the work she loves. Calling herself a “bionic woman,” she reports that a replacement hip and knees drove her to find a home with one-floor living space. She is planning to attend our 50th reunion. Please send me your holiday letters and other news reports so I can share the growing enthusiasm for our upcoming reunion! Also, contact your classmate friends and encourage them to join us in June 2013.
1964
Bill McCullough 44 Fairvale Drive Penfield, N.Y. 14526 bill.mccullough68@gmail.com
As the new class secretary submitting my first ever class note, a brief report is due. After Wooster, I earned a master’s in social work from Case Western Reserve University, followed by three years in the military and 37 years with United Way. I retired in 2006 as executive vice president of the Greater Rochester United Way. I now have more time to spend with my four children and three grandchildren. Since they are in Ohio, Texas, Florida and China, I also get to travel a bit. My primary role since retirement is “struggling watercolorist.” My wife Betty (who just retired), and I plan to stay in western New York for the foreseeable future. Joel Bowman attended Wooster one year, and completed a B.A. in English at the University of Illinois. His postgraduate studies were interrupted by service in the Army. Afterwards, he completed a Ph.D. in English and went on to teaching positions in business communications at the University of Florida in Gainesville, and Western Michigan University College of Business in Kalamazoo. He is now retired from academic life and is working in holistic health. Learn more on Joel’s website (www.scs-matters.com). David R. Cook, or “Cooker” as I knew him, lives in Hendersonville, N.C., serving as executive director for a nonprofit crisis ministry. David played football while at Wooster, but a hip dislocation while playing in 1963 ended his football career and a grant-inaid program. He returned home to complete work on a B.A., and a master’s in social work from Kansas University. He entered the Army and served as a social worker officer for 22 years. He obtained a Ph.D. in 1983, and completed his military career with tours at the Department of Army Family Policy Office and the Department of Defense Family Policy Office. After coming to Hendersonville, N.C., he served as an administrator in the local mental health center for six years before taking on his current post with the crisis ministry. Steve Dawson is emeritus professor at the University of Hawaii. Last fall he was in London and saw classmate Don Kohn talk at the London School of Economics about bank transparency. Don is former vice chair of the Federal Reserve Board. As Steve tells it, “The moderator introduced Don, saying he’d known him for four decades. After Don’s speech, I asked the first question, saying that I’d known Don for five decades.” E. Scott Geller is a distinguished professor W I N T E R 2 0 1 2 Wooster 47
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ClassNotes
50TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY OF MARGARET STEWART YOUNG ’57 AND SANFORD YOUNG, MAY 2011 L TO R: Zoe Wilson, Eugene Young, Bridge M. Wilson-Young, Margaret & Sandy Young, Lila Bankston, Roland Young.
at Virginia Tech, and director of the Center for Applied Behavior Systems. In his 40 years in the field of behavioral psychology, Scott’s contributions have earned him awards and recognitions, including was an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the College of Wooster in 2011. I remember Scott as my Fifth Section roommate for sophomore and junior years and one hell of a drummer in a rock band. One thing, in particular, that touched me about Scott’s work was his role in creating Actively Caring For People. It’s worth a trip to the website: www.ac4p.org/index.
1965
Chuck & Lill Richeson Templeton 925 Alvarado Terr., Walla Walla, Wash. 99362(509) 525-6746, templeton@whitman.edu
We received a number of emails expressing sadness at the death of Diana Moseson Brown on Aug. 17, 2011. Bill Vodra (wvodra@cox.net) attended her memorial service. Bill writes, “Although I had not connected with her since graduation, she and I were good friends on campus, and she left a mysterious mark on my memory—one of those people you never forget and long to see again.” Jack Travis (jwtravis@mindspring.com) remembers that he and Bill Vodra were both at Ohio Boys State in 1961 where Jack was head of the Ohio State Police and had to declare martial law due to riots in a dorm. He sent his lieutenant (who is now a minister in Indianapolis), to investigate Bill’s alleged embezzlement of the legislators’ paychecks. Bill did remember setting up a business called Credit Mobilier, deliberately based on the scandal of 1872. 48 Wooster W I N T E R 2 0 1 2
Nick Karatinos (nek1720@aol.com) shares news: “We have reached the age where some ask us when we may decide to retire, but I have no plans to. Jill continues with her psychiatry practice focusing on brain-injured patients, and I with my law practice in employment and maritime law and insurance litigation. In July, we attended my 50th high school reunion in West Palm Beach, Fla. Frank Gilbuena and Steve Goldsmith attended. Frank continues to work as a producer for a TV station in Philadelphia, and Steve with his business ventures in New Jersey. They both promised to attend our 50th Wooster reunion. Jill's 50th at Newark High School in Delaware was in late September. Gary Reichard (garywar1945@sbcglobal.net) and Sandy Scott of our class were expected. Mary Jo (Weaver) MacCracken (maccrac@uakron.edu), a faculty member at the University of Akron, recently presented a research poster at the Association of Applied Sport Psychology conference in Hawaii titled “Social Physique Anxiety, Body Composition and Body Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction in Middle School Children.” One of her classes has also received funding for an innovative program called Pay It Forward, which helps develop a new generation of philanthropists through a course-based service-learning environment. Additional news from Bill Vodra, “I live in Alexandria, Va. I have retired from practicing law, which I began in D.C. in. 1971. I was with the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs/Drug Enforcement Administration of the Department of Justice for three years, and then with the Food and Drug Administration for five years, concen-
trating throughout on the regulation of drugs and other medical products. I then spent over 30 years with Arnold & Porter in D.C., advising companies on legal issues relating to the regulation of medical products. I retired fully in 2010 in order to serve on a panel for the Institute of Medicine, looking at FDA’s regulation of moderaterisk medical devices. We sent out an email newsletter to our class reminding them of our arriving on campus as first-year students on Sept. 13, 1961. John McNeese (johnmcneese@sbcglobal.net) responds, “Thanks for the memory. I called my Dad who is 93 years old. He said he had a tear in his eye on the road back to Oklahoma after leaving me at Wooster.” In August we (Chuck and Lill) enjoyed five days in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and 12 days cruising on the Baltic Sea. We visited six countries during the cruise and were very excited to visit the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia, one of the items on our bucket list. In September we hosted Martha (Eshelman) Brown (milbrown@aol.com) and her husband, Gary ’66 who flew in from New York. They came to Walla Walla to attend the wedding of their niece, stepdaughter of Gary’s brother Mark ’71. Martha and Gary are enjoying the freedom of retirement and travel, and are hosting many family and friends at the lakeside home they built in on Keuka Lake in upstate New York. Keep your news coming! Our planning committee continues to gear up for our 50th reunion. The more connections we can make, the more fun the reunion will be. Be sure to mark June 4-7, 2015 on your calendars for a fabulous weekend.
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1966
1967
6557 S. Richards Ave. Santa Fe, NM 87508, libobrien66@gmail.com
32 Binnacle Hill, Oakland, CA 94618-2532, rosienjohn@aol.com
Gerry Meyer writes: “On the way to North Carolina in early August, Bette and I stopped in Williamstown, W.Va., and had dinner with Martha Webb McGovern and her husband, Pat. Martha has just retired from her position at WVU at Parkersburg and is looking forward to having time to do more reading and other personal activities. Martha can be reached at marthamcg@suddenlink.net. Bette and I hosted a gathering in August at our vacation home in Canton, N.C. We had Chalmers and Pam Brumbaugh, Jim and Suz Brown, Bruce Arnold and Bob Johnson and his wife, Dale, over for the weekend. We had great conversation, connecting for the first time since Wooster for most of us. We enjoyed having everyone visit and are willing to host any other ’66 friends and spouses that are in the western North Carolina area near Asheville or in the Cleveland, Ohio area where we still maintain a residence.” Contact Gerry at gerrymeyer1966@gmail.com. Suz Brown said regarding the gathering: “We were so pleased to have been included that weekend, and we now have a renewed interest in keeping track of more Wooster friends. Bruce Arnold said: “The weekend was awesome, and I'm really glad I attended. Since I didn’t graduate with the class (Bruce transferred to Stetson University as a junior to become a CPA) I thought I might be left out, but I was totally wrong. I renewed old friendships and made new ones, in spite of my never attending a reunion. I'll definitely make a big effort to attend our 50th!” Bob Johnson said: “I really appreciate the hosting of our little group of ’66 classmates. I appreciate the efforts to renew friendships and look forward to keeping in touch with those from so long ago.” Gerry makes the following request: “I would like to create a periodic class newsletter to share regular news and pictures which might not be able to be included in the Wooster magazine. I am looking for information and for people to help with the production (to write notes on themselves or others). I would also like people to send updated email addresses if they have not gotten correspondence from me since June.” Ginny Keim Brooks writes: “I reconnected with John Karrer (saintflash@comcast.net) in August when my husband and I joined him for lunch in Hartford. John has retired after 30plus years of teaching art at Weaver High School. He did some amazing projects there with his students and continues to pursue some creative photographic projects.
Nancy Lukens-Rumscheidt
Elizabeth “Libby” Westhafer O’Brien
Rosemary “Rosie” Capps Merchant
6 Cote Dr., Dover, NH 03820-4607 nlukens66@comcast.net
It was good to hear from Joel Weaver (weaver.13@osu.edu), dentist anesthesiologist and emeritus professor at The Ohio State University, who spent his first two years with our class before transferring to pharmacy school at Ohio Northern University. He graduated from the ONU College of Pharmacy in 1968 and from the College of Dentistry at The Ohio State University in 1972. He deserves our congratulations for receiving the OSU Distinguished Service Award in May 2011. Since retiring from full-time academics, Joel works two days a week teaching residents and providing general anesthesia at the OSU Medical Center for patients with cognitive disabilities, facial trauma and dental-facial deformities. Joel has been married 41 years to Barbara Lee Ringwald Weaver. Because Barbara is related to actress Molly Ringwald, she and Joel might be willing to tell some lively stories about family reunions. They live in Westerville, Ohio, where Barbara is involved on the boards of the Westerville Symphony and the Opera Columbus Impresarios support group. They have two children and four grandchildren. Joel writes: “To offset our rather hectic lives, we enjoy ‘life in the slow lane’ while touring the back roads in our 1912 Model T Ford. Next July, our Model T Club will tour for a week in the Rutland, Vt., area. I love to keep up with my Wooster friends and classmates through the alumni magazine. Incidentally, the rest of my family graduated from Wooster: my dad Joel Weaver ’37, my mother Mary Ellen Frame Weaver ’34, and my sisters Mary Jo Weaver MacCracken ’65 and Helen Weaver Kaufman ’69.” The Weavers attend Ohio Light Opera, support the Columbus Symphony and see Joel’s classmate Bill Bay, a renal medicine specialist, at fundraising events. In other news, Rosie Capps Merchant and Jeanne Milligan Player, the two oldest Scots in Service, packed 8,000 pounds of carrots on Sept. 17 at the San Francisco food bank. Were any of you at other sites? If not, think about taking advantage of this opportunity to serve your community and meet COW folks at the same time. Even better, contact the Alumni Office for help in organizing an event in your area! Let us know of any meet-ups and send photos if they include classmates. We know of at least one recent mini-reunion when Laura
Whitman Reed, Emily Albu, Rosie Merchant and Susan Stranahan ’68 met on Southport Island near Boothbay, Maine in July. This is becoming an annual event, so if you live in New England, please get in touch if you’re interested! Your other co-secretary, Nancy LukensRumscheidt, was in Wooster in April and was happy to catch up with Sally Patton and retired faculty Arn and Beth Lewis, Richard and Susan Figge, and Richard and Barbara Bell. As you have no doubt heard, Sally Patton has stepped down as vice president of development for the College and will officially retire in 2012. We encourage you to consider mentioning Sally’s name when you give to the Wooster Fund in her honor. By the time you read this, plans for our 45th reunion June 7-10 will be well under way. We hope you’ve marked your calendars and are planning to attend, so that by 2017 we’ll be in fabulous shape for our 50th and will have just the right gift to present. Some have already begun thinking about what kind of gift that might be. Please send us your news and thoughts!
1968
Jim & Jean Adair Mayer 35038 Carnation Ln., Ft. Mill, SC 29707 jeanmayer@hotmail.com, goscots@comporium.net
Connie Sue Kaufman (jacksonlady1@yahoo) reports: “After teaching virtually nonstop since 1968, I retired from teaching high school in 2007, stayed retired for two weeks, and accepted instructor positions with The University of Akron/Wayne College and at North Central State College in Mansfield. All the children are out of the nest, I have remarried, and I am beginning again. My, how life moves on!”
1969
Judy Simkins Haines 2643 Brook Valley Rd., Frederick, MD 21701 JudyHaines1@hotmail.com
1970
Laura Wolfson Likavec 1702 Mendelssohn Dr., Westlake, OH 44145 lauralikavec@yahoo.com
Vicki Miles Yuen, who lives in Las Vegas, was elected state president of the Nevada Garden Club. From Dan Dimpfl: “I’ve been retired for four years from 36 years of teaching high school chemistry. It turns out chemistry and the world of 16-year-olds was a good fit for me. I have been married 40 years this year; W I N T E R 2 0 1 2 Wooster 49
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SINGING WITH THE PROS
Members of the Wooster Chorus joined the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony at Blossom Music Center. L TO R, BACK ROW
Benjamin Bellamy ’12, Marjory Etheridge ’14, Tom Hull ’07 MIDDLE ROW
Lisa Wong (director of Wooster Chorus), Bronwyn Schlaefer ’12, Trevor Pozderac ’14, Ryan O’Dell ’14, Sarah Mitchell ’13, Debbie Krudwig Gutowski ’99 FRONT ROW
Cara Haxo ’13, Marie Gatien ’14, Brian Fancher ’13, Krista Koeller ’13, Clare Mitchell ’06 (not pictured: Trem Oatman ’72, Sarah Jones ’87)
we have three grown children and three grandchildren. Grandchildren are the absolute best. Sue and I are active with our local Habitat for Humanity, and we are currently building a house with our son for him and his family. Although we’re a little overwhelmed with the current project, I'm sure we’ll get our lives back eventually. Susan Burkhalter scastlekep@aol.com, an organist at two churches in Virginia, wrote a review of the book Susquehanna, River of Dreams by Susan Stranahan ’68 on her blog: http://organistsnews.bachorgan.com. David Clark read Patty Richards ’68 Notes in the last issue and had this reaction: “Patty is being way too humble. In December, 1966 the Wooster Chorus, under the baton of Dr. Gore , sang Handel's Messiah before a packed house in the old chapel. The chorus, of course, was made up of undergraduates but the orchestra and the soloists were professionals. At the last minute, the professional soprano soloist was unable to perform and Patty, one of Prof. Trump's voice students, was enlisted to fillin. For more than one listener that night, her singing of “I know that my redeemer liveth" was truly a spirtual experience.”
1971
Carlile Marshall 155 Maple St., Summit, NJ 07901 tom.marshall@yahoo.com
50 Wooster W I N T E R 2 0 1 2
1972
Jay Yutzey 1254 Norwell Dr., Columbus, OH 43220 yutzey-2@osu.edu
1973
Suzanne Schluederberg 3385 Carl Ct., Ann Arbor, MI 48105 suz@umich.edu
1974
Kim Tapie 5511 Canaan Center Rd., Wooster, OH 44691-9611 kimtapie@gmail.com
I regret to inform you that another classmate that many of you knew passed away last June: Kraig Gibson, brother of Ken. I last saw Kraig at his brother’s funeral three years ago. Being a twin, Kraig had the same chronic illnesses that led to Ken’s death. Kraig was a happy-go-lucky guy who never complained. His most recent joy was a gospel bluegrass band he formed that played in area churches. His tenor voice was clear as a bell, as was his infamous chuckle. Both Gibson boys were the best joke- and storytellers I knew. Kraig will be missed. Thanks to all who responded to my request for emails. Please keep them coming or a guilt request will haunt you from this column. From Tom Mitchell (tompitt@verizon.net):
“Since 1988, I have been a recreational runner involved in 10ks, marathons, triathlons, etc. I am not the fastest by far, but I enjoy the camaraderie. I also enjoy volunteering at the races; I once led the opening of a 30k race on my bike. I travel to marathons in the Cleveland, Erie, and Pittsburgh areas, but Akron is my favorite.” Russ Phifer (rphifer@wcenvironmental.com) writes: “I’ve spent most of 2011 campaigning for public office for the first time. I am running for the recorder of deeds position in Chester County, Penn., a large county with about 500,000 residents. This has been an amazing experience, as I’ve been forced out of my shy shell to meet voters at public events several times a week. I’m still running my environmental health and safety consulting business and remain active in the American Chemical Society. Because I’m not busy enough, I’ve also been named executive director of the National Registry of Certified Chemists, the main certification organization for chemists. I still have two daughters in school—one a junior in high school, the other a junior in college. My hobbies include going to Phillies games (with season tickets since 1978). I had a great time at a game with Tom Hynson last summer. I’ll let you know how I do in the election, which is November 8.”
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1975
Andrea J. Steenburg Simmers 2121 Breeds Rd., Owings Mills, MD 21117-1646 asimmers@mcdonogh.org
From Beth Kean: "Ours" is a story that began 50 years ago. It is a story about penpals, in a day and age now of tweeting, twittering, and (hmmmm) writing letters? When I was seven years old, I thought it might be "cool" to have a pen-pal from another country. My father, Albert Kean ’45 found a friend for me to correspond with through his ministerial contacts in England. Susan Jebbett Lockwood and I have been writing ever since. Our letter writing waned during our teenage years, so our respective parents took over. They not only continued writing, but became travel companions, and life-long friends. Susan's father, Ralph Jebbett, wrote a poem about our family friendship, and added up 20-plus trips. We have since added many more. I was in Sue's wedding, playing the harp for her, and she was a bridesmaid in mine. Our husbands enjoy hiking, swimming, and sampling beer together. My sister, Judy Kean (Wooster Class of 1978) and her son, Michael- have been to England to visit. The sons and daughters have been on visits. So, no- we are not one of those stories about having never met each other in spite of writing for a lifetime. Instead, we have become the "Pen-Pal Bunch" ( after the Brady bunch theme song). We have become family. We now e-mail each other, and admittedly, seldom write actual hand-written letters. If we are not careful, all our writing will be lost-tofollow if we don't save e-mails, etc. But, for now, we are happy to be in relationship, and to keep it going!”
1976
Dana Vandenberg Murphy 3175 Warrington Rd., Shaker Heights, OH 44120-2428, dmurphy1@sbcglobal.net
I (Dana) enjoyed meeting Anne Liske's brother Kurt Liske ’61 at our June 2011 reunion. Anne wasn’t able to make the event, but here’s her update: “For almost 20 years I have worked in the not-for-profit sector at the state and national level doing advocacy for agencies serving those affected by sexual violence. I currently work as the sexual violence prevention coordinator for the University of Vermont, and live with my husband John in Winooski. After Wooster, I earned an M.F.A. in theater from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.S. in arts from New York University. I have volunteered for a women’s prison library
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and also serve on the board of an LGBT community center.” Kit Arn is president of Robeks Fruit Smoothies in Akron, Ohio. David M. Kinney is an emergency room physician in Morgantown, W.Va. Paula Berry is a psychologist in private practice in Louisville, Ky. She earned her doctorate in 1990 from the University of Louisville. Paula and husband Kenneth Burgess are the parents of Claire Burgess ’10. Paula sings with a women’s a cappella group, Pride of Kentucky. Julie Beuter of Wooster is co-founder and the director of MOCA House, a peer-support recovery center for those recovering from severe mental illness. She spends two weeks a year volunteering in Honduras for Central American Medical Outreach. Julie is an avid runner and tennis player, and she also has an adult son and daughter. Cynthia Fisher Freer reports from Jatim, Indonesia: “Mark Freer and I were married in 1975. Immediately after graduation, Mark and I lived in Louisiana’s Cajun territory for two years as dorm parents for Sager-Brown School, an orphanage-type facility and part of the United Methodist Church home missions. We both then went to Asbury Seminary outside of Lexington, Ky. After seminary, we served 11 years as pastors in the East Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church in churches east of upper Sandusky, Ohio, where our two sons, Andrew and Mathew, were born in 1984 and 1987. We were both ordained in 1983. In January of 1993, our family moved to Indonesia as members of OMS International, a faith mission. We have both taught in the OMS-related seminary in Indonesia, where Mark still teaches and serves as field director. I went back to school and got my M.Ed. from Seattle Pacific University. I have been teaching at Wesley International School since 2000 and have been high school principal since 2007. Both of our sons graduated from WIS, went to college and are now married. We have no grandchildren yet!” Here’s news from Dwight Pike dwight@pikesfinancial.com, our new class president: “A lot of changes have taken place around campus since we were there, but a lot remains the same. It's incredible how well the physical plant at the College has been maintained since we were there. The new Scot Center is going to be incredible when it’s finished. I’m hoping to make it part of our 40th reunion.” Mark R. High, a member at Dickinson Wright, PLLC, has been named a 2011 Michigan Super Lawyer in business/corporate law. Super Lawyers is a listing of outstanding
lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Mark has also been included in The Best Lawyers in America 2012 in the area of corporate governance law and corporate law.
1977
Bonnie Savage 4306 River St., Willoughby, OH 44094-7815 bonniesbee@sbcglobal.net
If you would like to send news, I (Bonnie) prefer that you write because I am trying not to spend much time on the computer. It is always great to hear from you. I enjoyed having an outstanding voice and violin teacher at Wooster. The encouragement and nurturing I experienced has sparked a lifelong career teaching voice and violin. It is very difficult to learn everything while in college, but I continue to work and am thankful for the excellent start that I had. I hope other graduates have fond memories as well. If anyone is interested in being secretary, please let me know. I enjoy being secretary, but I would love to give the chance to someone else who might be interested
1978
Ken & Laurie Williams Gifford 6 Alicia Cir., Sinking Spring, PA 19608 giffkr@aol.com, lgifford@firstenergycorp.com
Helen Wilson 7031 Villa Dr., Waterford, MI 48327-3323 hewil2000@yahoo.com
Stuart & Robin Light Thomas 2801 Edgewood Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55426 (952) 925-5028, rsthomas78@comcast.net
1979
Jay Keller 324 Lincoln Ave., Takoma Park, MD 20912-5704 jayktoakoma@gmail.com
A number of classmates reflected on the 10th anniversary of September 11th. Folks responded to Ellen McKnight’s post of “Where were you?” on Facebook with a variety of answers. Eric Showes (ericshowes@sbcglobal.net) works at Fire Station 7 in Canton, Ohio. He joined dignitaries in remembering the tragedy on the 10th anniversary. From Jim Murphy (jimm@salishan.com): “I turned 55 this year! We bought a condo in Arizona a few years ago. The rain drives me
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ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION IN BERMUDA, AUGUST 2011 L TO R: Scarlett Caminiti Bouder ’96, Rich Bouder ’96, Allison Hightshoe Becsak ’95, Todd Becsak ’95
A SPELUNKING ADVENTURE
Newly engaged Shashana Raskas ’05 and Pablo Gonzalez Aguilar spelunking in Costa Rica.
south for a few days in January or February. Though I didn’t want to be there last summer, I would have liked to witness a ‘haboob’ dust storm.” Larry Nader (lcnader@hotmail.com) reports that for son Alex’s graduation present, they attended Comic Con in San Diego, the ultimate experience of entertainment media. Later in the summer, Larry’s wife Gail and he met up with Paul Keeler at Matt Marko’s place in Michigan and spent two days enjoying Matt’s party boat and reliving old times as Betas in First Section. Jen Jones (xojones@aol.com) reports that her son Chris (Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps) returned from Afghanistan in July, and her husband Mark returned in May from Kabul after one year. Jen has gone tandem diving and hopes to have done a “real” skydive by the end of the year. Steve Glick (sglick@wooster.edu) retired from the Wooster Police Department and is now director of security and protective services at the College. He and his wife, Liz Eberhart Glick ’81, celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary, his retirement and her birthday on a Caribbean cruise. They also stayed in New York City for a few days and saw Meg Burnham ’80. They then spent time in Rhode Island visiting family (Karen Eberhart ’91, her husband Andrew Ellison ’90 and their daughter Abigail). On Aug. 6, Steve’s son, Edward ’07, married Bethany King ’07 in Columbus. Of course, many COW grads and some current students attended. His daughter, Melissa ’12, is in her senior year at Wooster. A biology major, she is captain of the cheerleading squad, works at the Alumni Office, and is busy applying to vet schools. Ellen McKnight (eltmck@gmail.com), her husband Jeff, and her daughter Lauren saw the sun rise over Machu Picchu this past summer. Ellen’s flash fiction has been 52 Wooster W I N T E R 2 0 1 2
published in a couple more literary magazines this year, and her current novel-inprogress, Just Kate, was shortlisted for the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition and came in second for Best First Page at the Annual Writers’ Institute. “Now if only I could finish the thing!” she says. Mike Dever founded Brandywine Asset Management in 1982 and continues to serve as its CEO and director of research. He became a published author with the release of Jackass Investing: Don't Do It. Profit From It., which was published by Ignite Publications. The book, which overturns 20 common investment myths, also introduces several new concepts. The final chapter incorporates these into a “Free Lunch” portfolio designed to profit in both bull and bear markets. It has been called both controversial and game-changing, and has become an Amazon investment bestseller. Sharon (Farmer) Schoneman (sharon@schoneman.com) wrote that she and Steve are hanging out in Ashtabula, Ohio: “Our fourth child graduated from college this summer! Do we get to have some money now? Our biggest news is that we are becoming grandparents in January. Steve and I somehow manage to work daily together in our software/consulting business. We work on systems that integrate with customer’s accounting systems and allow them to monitor their businesses. We also dabble at being landlords and rehabilitating houses; we keep busy.” Shelley Griewahn (sgriewahn@cooperwright.com) writes, “Our daughter is a high school junior, so this past fall marked the start of college research for us. Not sure I’m ready for this, but it can be fun!” Don Bordine and Jay Keller represented our class by attending a Scots in Service
event in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 17. About 25 Wooster alumni and families joined to assemble care packages for service men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan. Prior to the event, alumni purchased items such as hand warmers and non-perishable treats to fill 25 boxes. Each box also contained a handmade note or picture of appreciation produced by the children of alumni who also attended. Don Campbell and his family came up to Washington in July and joined the Kellers and Bordines for dinner. It was great to catch-up.” And finally, my news: My family and I (Jay) visited my brother-in-law in Rwanda last summer, spending two weeks traveling around the country. We hiked Mount Bisoke (a 12,000-foot inactive volcano on the Congo border), where Dian Fossey of Gorillas in the Mist worked to protect gorillas. We swam in Lake Kivu and saw hippos, giraffes, baboons, Cape buffalo and an incredible diversity of birds in Akagera National Park. Just 17 years after a genocide that killed nearly one million Rwandans in 90 days, the country is still working through this tragedy.
1980
Susan Estill 1817 Keller Lake Dr., Burnsville, MN 55306-6378 sestill58@comcast.net
Don Leake 300 High Gables Dr., Apt. 208, Gaithersburg, MD 20878-7428
Jenny Watson 1551 Oakmount Rd., South Euclid, OH 44121 jlwatson395@sbcglobal.net
1981
Jennifer Longsworth wheelinjen@aol.com
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Barbara Brown 2151 Fairmount Ave., St. Paul, MN 55105 wishboneandbarb@hotmail.com
John P. Shafer 9929 Oakton Terrace Rd., Oakton, VA 22124 shaferjp@hotmail.com
Susan Lancaster Toner 11593 Westbury Pl., Carmel, IN 46032 susan_toner@hotmail.com
1983
David Martin Collierville, TN, dkmboater@hotmail.com or david.martin2@ipaper.com
Betsy de Jong-Crane (www.cranecitytours.com) writes: “I'm still living in Groningen in the Netherlands—it’s now been 21 years. My husband's been teaching art history at the university here even longer. Our daughter Emma began at the University of York in England in October and is studying art history. Our son Pieter is in his fourth of six years in high school. He will definitely not be studying art history, but he really liked Wooster after visiting for our 25th reunion, so who knows where he will end up. After a number of academic projects, I started a tour business giving walks through our beautiful city. I would love to see anyone who manages to come to the far north, and of course I give free tours to Wooster alumni!” Jennie Saliers celebrated her 50th birthday this year and sent this quick update: “This seems to be the year a lot of us turned the big 5-0. Bill surprised me by flying in Mary Neagoy, Lisa Beatty and Lee Renner for a great birthday weekend celebration in July.” Jennifer Smith sends this update: “The 2011 Wooster Fund numbers are out and our class had a 33 percent participation rate! We went from 12.7 percent in 2009 to 17 percent in 2010 to 33 percent in 2011! That is a huge improvement—let’s keep up the good work! On a personal note, I was elected to the council for the Administrative Law Section of the American Bar Association (ABA) at their annual meeting last August in Toronto.” Jennifer, thank you for your effort to move all of us, and thank you very much to all who participated. Your participation helps Wooster and increases our potential for more aid to help current and future students. Shirley Bennett continues to work in obgyn at Southwest General Hospital outside of Cleveland. She has two boys, 13 and 16.
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She has a summer home on Chautauqua Lake, N.Y., and a winter home in Naples, Fla. Thanks for the update Shirley—no wonder you were getting rid of the boat! Mary Neagoy sent this update: “Last year, many of us turned 50. I marked my AARP birthday quietly with my family, while visiting Washington, D.C. on spring break. Last summer, I took part in a true covert mission, “Operation Shrimp Cocktail,” to help Jennie celebrate her 50th. Co-conspirators were Lissa Beatty and Lee Renner. The “Charlie” to our “Angels” was Jennie’s hubby, Bill Levisay. In other news, I continue to enjoy my service to Wooster as a member of the board of trustees, where I'm fortunate to work alongside many of Wooster’s most talented and dedicated alumni from all eras. I urge you to visit Wooster on the web or in person. I think you will really like what you see.” Jeff Berichon reports that he and Dave Hadzinsky made their annual fall trek to Scotland for a few rounds of golf. They both completed their quest to play all of the Scottish British Open courses by playing Muirfield and Old Musselburgh. Other highlights of the trip included playing North Berwick, Carnoustie, and Royal Aberdeen, the site of the 2011Walker Cup. Hugh Crowell is spending a lot of time doing wetland, stream and ecological surveys in the hills of West Virginia. According to Hugh, “The environmental consulting business is roaring back while other parts of the economy remain fragile. My family is enjoying our new dog, Malcolm, a pound mutt who is either a giant Chihuahua or a dingo – anybody’s guess.” Chelsea Brown Callicott (formerly Pam Brown) updates us from Oregon: “We’re raising our 10-year-old twins in Bend, Ore., where my husband, Preston, is a partner at a web development/mobile apps company. I do PR and manage client relations for businesses and individuals and love the variety of my work. I also represent SendOutCards, a progressive company that allows you to create personalized greeting cards from your computer, which are printed, stamped and mailed for you. Please try it out and send a card, on me, at www.sendoutcards.com/54744. On the philanthropic side, I am a member of PEO, an international sisterhood that provides educational scholarships to women. I am also a founding board member of Age Wide Open, a new 501 (c)(3) designed to support adult children (us!) as we help the seniors we love on their aging journey. This is especially relevant to me, as I partner with my siblings to support my elderly father who
just moved in with my brother and his family. This summer found us traveling to the Jersey shore for a family reunion, and later to Seattle and the San Juan islands for my daughter Genna’s debut into the world of traveling soccer. Life at home in Bend finds us floating or paddling the river, exploring new hikes and enjoying a rich life in a small town. Please email (chelsea@getreality.com) if you ever find yourself nearby, as I’d love to show you the best of central Oregon.” Tara Mahlerwein Martin ’82 and I (David) are doing well in Memphis. Tara is teaching German at Germantown High School (how ironic), and I am now the North American EHS manager for International Paper converting operations. Our sons are doing well; one is out of college, the second is at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and the third is a sophomore in high school. I turned 50 last November. Happy 50th to all who have already picked up their AARP cards. Just think—we can get geezer rates at hotels when we go back to Wooster for our 30th reunion! Thank you to those who continue to send updates. I wish you a pleasant post-holiday greeting and thank you again for your increasing participation in supporting the Wooster Fund. Wooster is scored based on alumni support; money helps, but participation is also a big factor. Thanks to all who stepped up – let’s get to 50 percent for our 30th reunion!
1984
Elizabeth “Beth” Novak Wiggall 3636 Lake Albert Way, Grove City OH 14450 bawraw@att.net
Cheryl Lower Coonahan 2 Brookside Lane, Sterling, Mass. 01564 coonahancheryl@yahoo.com
1985
Barry Eisenberg beyesn@aol.com
“Who were you then, who are you now? You've changed your place in this world,” sings Akron native Chrissie Hynde on “Talk of the Town,” a hit single on The Pretenders’ 1981 (the year we arrived on campus) album “Pretenders II.” It’s a great song and a perfect line for the dual effect of Class Notes: They simultaneously remind us who classmates were and tell us who they have become. So thanks for sharing and please keep the notes coming! At last counting, there were 1,909 College of Wooster alumni couples. Well, it's time to W I N T E R 2 0 1 2 Wooster 53
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WEDDING OF ELIZABETH KERR ’07 AND PAUL POKLINKOWSKI L TO R, BACK ROW
Steve Bassett ’06, Matt Frank ’03, Robert Hutchinson ’07, Lynette Mattson ’08, Matt Long, Katie Lawrence ’07, Kim Noll x’07 MIDDLE ROW Kate Duffus ’07, Mandy Kirkendall ’07, Hannah Samuell ’09, Jen Metzger ’07, LuAnn Duffus ’81), Charlene Gross (Wooster costume designer), Erin Toohey Frank ’07 FRONT ROW Robert Dumville ’07, groom, bride
add another to the tally, as Elizabeth Bacon (eli@experlex.com) has some news: “Life is great here in Chicago! Brian Boyd ’84 and I reconnected and are engaged to be married, probably sometime next year.” Elizabeth, who earned a law degree at Loyola University Chicago, reports that her commercial litigation practice and Brian's Internet SEO (search engine optimization) business are doing well. “My daughter Rebecca (20) is a Creative Writing Fellow in her senior year at the University of Iowa. My other daughter, Sarah (16), is a junior in high school and enjoying driving herself all over the place.” In August, Elizabeth enjoyed a great Skype session with Jim Zapf ’84 and Holly Zapf when Holly was visiting her brother in San Diego. “Brian and I are looking forward to a road trip to Wooster at some point,” says Elizabeth, “to see the old familiar places and explore all of the changes in the last two decades.” Norma Fort Hale (thehalefamily@comcast.net) checks in from Nashville, Tenn.: “Since I graduated from Wooster, I’ve done a variety of things! I’ve been a music therapist, director of recreation, dual diagnosis specialist, teaching director in community Bible study, Sunday school teacher, PTO volunteer, meals coordinator at my church, wife and mom! Of course, these are not in order of importance.” Norma and her husband Ron, who have been married 20 years, have a daughter (16) and a son (13). “I love living in Nashville,” she says, “Life is 54 Wooster W I N T E R 2 0 1 2
good; God is great!” Nora Hutton is a writer and illustrator of children’s books. She has published four books, available on her website: norasbooknook.com. Nora writes, “In my years since graduating from Wooster I have traveled in a few countries, lived in Boston and settled in Toledo where I live with my husband, Douglas Kidd, and our two cats.” She fondly recalls our 25th class reunion in 2010. “I saw so many familiar faces. I had a great time and had many good conversations. I felt fine to be an alumnus of a college so sonorous in architecture, population and evergreen and seasonally expeditious landscape.” Contact Nora to catch up, and perhaps trade unique descriptors, at nhutton@buckeyeexpress.com. Speaking of landscapes, Vic Frank (valvic99@gmail.com) has seen some far-flung landscapes during his first year working as managing director for Overseas Flagship Language Programs at American Councils for International Education in Washington D.C. “This summer I visited Nanjing University in China to develop an internship program for high-level American learners of Chinese,” says Vic (though you may call him Mike or “Che”). “Last fall I went to the State University of Zanzibar in Tanzania to check in on the Swahili program, to the University of Zululand in South Africa for the Zulu program, and to Maputo, Mozambique, to investigate the possibility of developing
Portuguese language programs there for American students.” His wife Valerie and daughter Trudy are probably glad to have him home. Laura Janson Moir (lauramslp@gmail.com) and husband Andy Moir ’86 assisted with coordinating the Scots in Service event in Columbus, Ohio. “We cleaned up and planted at a city park and had a beautiful day to do it,” reports Laura. “Scots in Service is a great way to give back to the community and to enjoy time with fellow alumni. Our project involved alumni spanning classes from 1961 to 2009. We worked hard, accomplished a lot and were never at a loss for conversation.” Laura even connected with former first-year Miller Manor housemate Alison Moser Stuart during the day. Alison works at McGraw-Hill Education as the permissions coordinator and is also heavily involved in systems conversion. She recently began working with Amelia Menk-Brown ’95. Alison and husband Pat have two boys, Sheamus (11) and Duncan (8). Kathi Whalen (kathiwhalen@comcast.net) reports on the Scots in Service day in Nashville, Tenn.: “My daughter Eva and I enjoyed meeting Wooster grads from 2003 and 2005 at the Scots in Service gathering here, as well as parents of a recent grad and even a current student. We worked in a food desert at an urban farm.” Kathi also writes that she
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enjoyed visits from Class President Jamie Haskins and Sally Wildman in back-to-back weeks this summer. “Jamie was on a road trip, and Sally and her daughter were on a college trip visiting Vanderbilt.” Kathi and her daughter also spent part of the summer with family in Lake Junaluska, N.C. Toward the end of the summer, Kathi headed back to Cuyahoga Falls for her 30th high school reunion. “I saw Marcia Obermiller ’86 while we were there. She and her family are in Copley and doing well.” Jamie Haskins (jdhaski@aol.com) tells more about that fun road trip: “Last summer, my partner Mike was accepted to the Sewanee Writers’ Conference in Tennessee, which gave us the opportunity to take a road trip out of Philadelphia and catch up with friends, family and Wooster folks along the way. In Nashville, I visited with Kathi Whalen and then in Bethesda, Md., I enjoyed tapas with Sarah Simmons and her husband George Giagtzoglou, Katie Hopper and Barry Eisenberg.” I must admit, those are some excellent dinner companions.
1986
Leslie Winter Gordon lesliegordon@comcast.net
Andy Moir andym12@gmail.com
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Kentaro Yamada ’11: Seeing the colors of music he culmination of Kentaro Yamada’s senior I.S. was different from that of most Wooster students. Instead of handing over his finished product to the registrar on I.S. Monday, Kentaro had to wait a little longer. The fruit of his efforts, an original musical composition written for the Scot Symphonic Band, was performed weeks before his graduation in May, and combined diverse elements (including pop, jazz, classical, and “as much music theory that I learned at Wooster as possible”), designed to reflect the breadth of his musical education at Wooster. “I tried really hard to explain the images I felt in the music to the band’s performers,” says Kentaro, a music composition major from Japan. “I communicated with literally everyone in the band about what feelings I wanted to come through in the music.” The result? “It was awesome. I had a feeling that I had not experienced before and can’t express with words. It’s an unforgettable memory.” “Awesome” is an understatement for such an accomplishment, especially when one important detail is taken into account: Kentaro is deaf. Afflicted with meningitis as a baby, Kentaro underwent life-saving surgery but lost 30 to 40 percent of his hearing in both ears. But he didn’t let the obstacle stop him from pursuing his passion; in fact, “My impaired hearing sort of made me go into the music world,” he says. Difficulty communicating in
T
1987
Emilie Storrs 237 Windermere Rd., Lockport, NY 14094 emiliestorrs@gmail.com
1988
Susan Friedman 2858 Highview Ave. Altadena, Calif. 91001 susanlfriedman@yahoo.com
Liz Sweney Decker 16 Lugrin St., Westbrook, ME 04092 liz.decker@goodwillnne.org
Dave Cotter and Ruth Reynolds Cotter ’90 and their kids spent two weeks in England and France this summer, where Dave presented two papers at a conference on time use at Oxford University. While in England and France, Dave bored his family with lots of stories from when he was there with John Hemann, Dave and Paul Lewis (Arn and Beth’s sons, who designed Bornhuetter Hall). This fall, Dave assumed the position of chair of his sociology department at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y.
school led him to apply himself to music rather than team sports, and it turned out to be a perfect fit. Kentaro soon discovered that he had perfect pitch; he could flawlessly reproduce notes (or entire pieces) without the assistance of written music. Kentaro left high school (an international school in Jakarta, Indonesia) already an accomplished musician, having won three awards and given three performances overseas. Kentaro learned about Wooster from high school band director John Salminen, and he arrived on campus knowing he wanted to study music composition. He immersed himself in sound, joining the Scot Symphonic Band, Marching Band, Jazz Ensemble, Wooster Symphony Orchestra, and Brass Ensemble—his instrument of choice: the tuba. As a composer and performer, Kentaro’s impaired hearing occasionally presented a challenge; he had difficulty distinguishing between complex chords, and he couldn’t always tell when his instrument was out of tune. When asked to adjust his own volume in harmony with a fellow musician, Kentaro sometimes found that he couldn’t hear the other instruments at all. While this might seem like a recipe for failure, Kentaro attributes his success to his perfect pitch, allowing him to memorize melodies quickly and develop his own strategies for music dictation. “Once I memorize music, I don’t have to hear very much,” he says. As a composer, “I see the ‘colors’ of music, and while my music sounded a little different from other composition students, I can compose a melody anywhere I want.” Says Prof. David Lueschen, adjunct instructor of brass on the College’s music faculty and Kentaro’s primary mentor on the tuba, “It became kind of a running joke over the years. I would say something like, ‘Etude No. 14,’ and he would immediately start playing it.” As far as Kentaro’s hearing impairment, Lueschen says, “I hardly even noticed it,” neither in rehearsals with the brass ensemble nor in private lessons. “Kentaro was always a lot of fun,” Lueschen says, and the two have kept in touch. Kentaro is missed by his former band- and ensemble-mates; a larger-than-life cardboard cutout of Kentaro’s smiling face—created by one crafty student when Kentaro’s arrival to band camp was delayed one summer—still makes the occasional appearance at band practices. For now, Kentaro is back in his native Tokyo, and hopes to get involved with a local symphonic band and continue composing and performing music. As he wrote in a recent letter to his former mentor, “I am ready to come back to the music world any time I can. I haven’t given up aiming for your position, Mr. Lueschen.” By Mary Dixon ’13
PHOTO: Matt Dilyard
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ClassNotes Nathan Sponseller (nathansponseller@gmail.com) writes: “I married Stacy Taylor on June 18 in Hotchkiss, Colo. A second marriage for both of us, we bring three daughters into our union: Micah (9), Ava (8) and Sasha (5). For the past 16 years, I have lived in the beautiful agricultural North Fork Valley of Colorado’s Western Slope, working as a community banker and as the volunteer president of the local chamber of commerce. Stacy’s a hardworking stay-at-home mom. Stacy and I also own and run a small inn in nearby Crawford. Amazingly, I share my community with three other Wooster grads: Bill Bishop ’62, Sarah Bishop ’63 and Jeannette Carey ’10, who is Micah and Ava’s music teacher! Stacy and I love this area. Alumni traveling through this beautiful part of the world should look us up. We’d be happy to be your tour guides! Maura Salins Greenman: My family and I spent five fun-filled days with Nina Roberts Kececi ’88 and her two beautiful kids, Yasar (6) and Aysan (2), on their vacation to the states this summer from their home in Istanbul, Turkey. We first gathered for a few days at her mother’s home in South Carolina low-country, where we relaxed on some of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen, dined on homecooked fresh shrimp and surreptitiously appropriated figs from the neighbor’s tree on our evening walks. We returned to my home in Virginia to celebrate the Fourth of July with a bevy of fireworks, burgers on the grill and even a neighborhood waterslide. It was a great visit for two long-ago Holden freshman roomies to reconnect and enjoy each other’s company. Next year, in Istanbul! Sarah Heath writes: “I am busy preparing for my third year review at Indiana University in Kokomo (kind of a dry run for tenure), so I am in the throes of documenting my past accomplishments. It’s also that time of year— I’m doing the Step Out Walk to Stop Diabetes again. Last year, I did 40k (25 miles) to commemorate 40 years with diabetes. This year, I’m proposing that I will start walking by
Deadlines Send news, obituaries, & photographs to class_notes@wooster.edu 108 Ebert Art Center The College of Wooster, 1220 Beall Ave. Wooster, OH 44691 phone: (330) 263-2243 fax: (330) 263-2592
UPCOMING DEADLINES Spring issue: Jan. 20 Fall issue: July 20
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8 a.m., and guarantee that I’ll cover a minimum of 10 miles before the main event starts at noon. That is one slow pace, but the point is to illustrate to people that it is possible to live a healthy life with diabetes. Consider donating at this link: http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/StepOut/Ind ianaArea?team_id=506069&pg=team&fr_id=7 846 And finally, our illustrious president Andy Heath has this update: “Another academic year is underway at Wooster. I hope to get back to see the new facilities on campus and watch some Fighting Scot sports. Our 25th reunion is now less than two years away! Keep that in mind; I hope you’ll plan to reconnect with our class then. As for me, I spent the summer swimming, biking and running. On September 11th I finished Ironman Wisconsin along with my wife Kathleen ’90. Crossing the finish line among a crowd of cheering fans suddenly made all the hours of training worth it. It was a very long and rewarding day.”
1989
Daphne Daugherty Cody Glencoe, Il. cody@steglencoe.org
Colleen Banks is the educational consultant and executive assistant to the producer for the television show, “Children Talk…Where Character Rocks,” which first aired on Sept. 3. Colleen is a first grade teacher and girls’ basketball coach at the Alexander Dawson School in Las Vegas. However, she says, “I took this summer opportunity to work on “Children Talk” because it’s an edutainment show that enables students to speak out globally about their thoughts, knowledge and experiences and to learn more about this wonderful world we live in. Colleen credits the College’s Nursery School for getting her started in her teaching career. “The Nursery School's Carol Stewart, Ruth MacKenzie, Suzi Collins and director Lynn Akam (now deceased), as well as my psychology adviser, Gordon Collins, helped mold me into a teacher inside and outside of the classroom. They taught me that in order to be a successful teacher you have to continue to be a lifelong learner, touch student lives outside the classroom and give back when you can to the community.” Colleen has been named “teacher of the year” twice in her career. Check out the “Children Talk” website to find out if it is scheduled to air in your city at www.childrentalk.com or www.telcoproductions.com When we last heard from David Zack, he didn’t know whether he was going to take his new nursing degree and go back to Ohio. The
update: he accepted a new job as director of operations management with Covington Senior Living. This regional operations position will allow him, his wife Carla and daughter Victoria to relocate from Philadelphia to Cincinnati, where his in-laws live. David writes, “We love the Philly area where I’ve lived for the past seven years, but it will be good to be back in the Buckeye State!”
1990 1991
Susan Kacerek Burlage 33061 Linden Drive, Solon, OH 44139 tennischick1268@gmail.com
Katie Jones McClelland Sykesville, MD, katievjones@aim.com
1992
Kathleen Quinn Highland Heights, KY KQuinn92@alumnimail.wooster.edu
Greetings, Class of 1992! I apologize for not being as efficient a secretary in the last year or two, but I want to encourage everyone to mark the dates of June 7-10, 2012, on their calendars because…drum roll…it’s time for our 20th class reunion! Can you believe it? For me, it still feels like yesterday that we arrived on campus, all fresh-faced and eager to experience all that Wooster had to offer. I hope many of you will be able to make the trip back to Wooster for this momentous occasion. If you have any personal news to send, please use my new contact address: quinnka@nku.edu. I promise that the next issue will be more newsy.
1993
Nancy Hunter Mycka nmycka@yahoo.com Hi all! By the time you read this, the snow will be blanketing the quad. Please keep the news coming, especially anything you did to celebrate the big 4-0! Udaya Thomas has had lots of twists and turns in her journey since Wooster. A sociology major, she went on to work on community development projects and in nursing and public health. She has been an international public health specialist for the past seven years, working in 13 different countries. She is now completing a post-master’s certificate to become an adult nurse practitioner specializing in primary care. Udaya has had two recent publications in Open Access Journals. Last September, one article was featured in
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CAMPING WITH THE SWIM TEAM AT MOHICAN TO R Ryan Radtke ’10, Michael Saltzman ’10, Briar Williams, Logan LaBerge ’10, Bob Lauwers ’10, Sarah Rudawksy ’12, Syd Kelly ’10, Rebecca Ross ’10, and Allie Kibler-Campbell ’10
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the International Journal of Nursing and Midwifery and she, as the primary author and principal investigator, describes work completed in Liberia. You can read it at http://www.academicjournals.org/ijnm/index. html. In her spare time, Udaya enjoys spending time with her family and friends, being active, reading, writing, cooking, listening to music and being near the ocean. Udaya wishes her classmates and other Woosterites peace, love and happiness in their lives and hopes that all will work hard, play harder, eat consciously, breathe deeply, love endlessly and sleep soundly. Oh, and for those turning forty this year (like she is), embrace it like the “new improved twenty!” Amy Reese writes: “This year has been quite a busy one, with tenure and twins! In April, I was promoted to associate professor and granted tenure at Cedar Crest College, where I teach a variety of courses in the department of biology. In June, I gave birth to twin girls, Elspeth and Ailsa. They join their big sister, Iona, who is now three. Life in our household is busy, but good.” Cara Gilgenbach writes that she is now head of special collections and archives at the Kent State University Libraries. She recently received tenure and is an associate professor at Kent State. Mark McKinney, aka “Dino,” earned an M.B.A. and is working as program manager for a local manufacturer. He lives in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. He celebrated turning 40 by doing a two-week hike to Mount Everest Base Camp last fall and cage diving with great white sharks off Australia this past summer. He would love to catch up with ’93 classmates at mmckinney@alside.com. Susan Simmons Deibel has been married to her husband David for 14 years. They have four children—Katherine (11), Graham (8), Lillian (4), and the latest surprise, William! Susan works part-time at Northeast Ohio Behavioral Health as an outpatient therapist. The practice specializes
in trauma-focused CBT, with most of her clients being children. She writes: “I would love to eventually be ‘Betty Shull’ on some university campus and work with collegeage folks.” She still enjoys playing piano and plays at church. She just returned from a family cruise to Bermuda (with 22 family members!), and she and David enjoy visiting her parents, who moved to Naples in 2000. Dart Schmalz earned both tenure and a promotion at Clemson University. In April, she came to Pittsburgh for a visit with Nancy Hunter Mycka and Sandy Eyre Nichols ’94. She would love to hear from Woo friends at schmaltz@clemson.edu. Dori Stiles (doritinkerstiles@gmail.com) writes: “I moved from Shrewsbury, Mass., to Raleigh, N.C., in July with my husband, Bob, and daughters, Julia (7) and Kirsten (4). We love the weather and sense of community! I'll be celebrating the big 4-0 with Kim Walter Remley and Daphne Corbett Carr in Palm Springs in October! We would love to connect with any alumni in the area.” Emily (Grevstad) Sidorfsky checked in: “I have two boys, Soren (9) and Theo (5), and I operate and teach my own preschool program, which I love. Steve Collins' child was in my program for over a year! I did turn 40 this year and threw a big party to cheer myself up. It was great fun! It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost 20 years since graduation—it’s gone by so fast!” Keep the news coming! I (Nancy) look forward to reporting your whereabouts and updates!
1994
Stephen S. Nichols 1875 Autumn Run, Wooster, OH 44691 Nichols_145@yahoo.com
From Jeff McDowell: “We’ve been in Singapore for a little over a year now. Karen ’93 has started a string ensemble and is
teaching violin students at the wonderful international school that Katie (12) and Maggie (10) are attending. I've been at P&G for 17 years now, and I'm currently the head of public relations for our oral care, feminine care and health care businesses across Asia. In the last two months alone I’ve had business trips to Tokyo, Kobe, Seoul, Sydney, London, Mumbai, Bangkok and Manila. We've taken some wonderful vacations in Indonesia and Australia and are looking forward to trips to Thailand and hopefully China and India later this year. Life is good on the flip side of the planet.” Abdul Rashid (arashid@ahrvisions.com) was a featured guest at this year's New York City Comic Con. (http://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/Whos-Coming/Guests/Comic-Guests/) From Hitesh Toolsidass: “I live in Kolkata, India. After my business degree, I was a banker, promoter and businessman, but my passion for photography, writing and graphic design made me start a company that does all three. Now I enjoy travelling for different assignments in India and abroad. I just returned from Copenhagen, where I photographed a conference for a book. I am also part of the Wooster India Leadership Group in India, and enjoy meeting up with others from Woo.” From Becky Davis Gardner: “My husband David and I have been in South Carolina for nine years. I have returned to teaching this fall (after a nine-year break and three children). I am teaching music part-time at a private school. I also teach oboe lessons at the university in town. I was thrilled to have a chance to visit Carrie Phillips Gerard and her family this summer. It's always great to catch up with classmates.” From Carrie Phillips Gerard: “My family and I are entering our 10th year living in Louisville, Ky. Our sons are six and eleven, and we are fortunate to live in close proximity to the Ohio River where we get to boat, swim and fish. I am nearing my third anniversary as executive director of a small ecumenical social service ministry. I interact with many great Wooster grads through work, which is wonderful! I would love to connect with more.” From Jonathan Stavely: “I am currently a history, mathematics and life skills teacher for at-risk youth in a juvenile detention facility in Boston Harbor.” From Amy Miller Sonntag: “My husband, Mark, and I celebrated our 15th anniversary this summer and live south of Cleveland in Hudson, Ohio. I have the privilege of working as a consultant at the W I N T E R 2 0 1 2 Wooster 57
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WEDDING OF STEPHANIE HULKE ’02 AND MATTHEW BATBOUTA, MENDHAM, N.J., AUG. 6, 2011 L TO R, FIRST ROW Keegan Brown, Cassidy Brown, Jenny Kunkler Donley ’02, Stacie Packard ’01, Emily Cole ’01, Heather Penny Higham ’01, Liz Martin ’02 SECOND ROW Maggie Peter Herms ’02, Kristine Dewitt Jones ’03, Hallie Shapiro Rick ’03, Jessica Bacon ’03, groom, bride, Sara Austin ’02, Miriam Esbner ’02, Stephanie Woodruff Pedon ’02 THIRD ROW Coach “Geordie Brown”, Nicole Roman ’03, Courtney Peter Marques ’02, Kate Dunne Williams ’02, Jen Hayman ’00, Ryan Pedon ’00
Prentke Romich Company with other Wooster grads, notably Sarah Wilds ’97. I have also started making fused dichroic glass jewelry (www.glasshalffulljewelry.com) and have been accepted into some smalljuried art shows. I sell my jewelry in several local stores.” From Christine Farrell: “I have lived in the D.C. area for the last 16 years and still love it. I am a project manager for an IT company and keep busy doing behind the scenes work for community theater, playing skeeball in a local league, and traveling (India, Italy, Greece, Turkey to name some recent trips). I just finished my first half marathon. I trained for four months and also raised money for Team2EndAids. Secondly, after living in Arlington, Va. for the last 17 years, I will be moving into the actual District of Columbia in spring 2012. I will be located near the Nationals Stadium and will have plenty of room for visitors!” From Delia Hoye Sattelmair: “After COW, I worked as a police officer for 10 years in Massachusetts before moving out to Utah and switching careers. I now work as a special education teacher, and I’m taking courses to someday be a school psychologist. We just adopted our second daughter from China. We live in Northern Utah near some major ski resorts and beautiful country if anyone is ever passing through and needs a place to crash.” From Amy Lawrence Bozza: “I’m living in Morris Plains, N.J., with my husband
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Robert and our four children. I’m an eighth grade social studies teacher with a principal certificate—just waiting for the right opportunity! I wrote a novel and was a semifinalist in last year’s Amazon Breakthrough Novel Competition. I am currently writing some more and enjoying life! I’d love to catch up with everyone!” From Shannon Peery: “Hello all! I teach theatre, humanities and etymology at Sumner Academy of Arts & Science in Kansas City, Kan., and direct and choreograph productions. Improv has recently become a passion. I perform at a local improv theatre and take annual jaunts to Chicago for immersion training. For years I’ve been writing and singing songs and occasionally performing. I have no progeny—unless you count goofy and awesome theatre kids—and, as yet, am still single and seeking.” From Lauren Bell: “I am living just outside of Richmond, Va., and am a professor of political science and associate dean of academic affairs at Randolph-Macon College. I am married to Jim Doering ’90, who is also on the faculty at R-MC.” From Tara Burgy Wells: “After the birth of my second child last year, I became a stay-at-home mom. My family usually enjoys living in our historic house surrounded by water in Mays Landing, N.J., but it was a bit nerve-wracking during the recent Hurricane Irene. Thankfully, we haven’t floated away, and the house is still
firmly rooted as it has been for almost 200 years.” Melissa Barnes Thomas and husband Eli welcomed baby Rhys Hamilton to the world on Aug. 19, 2011. Join your classmates on Facebook: The College of Wooster- Class of 1994.
1995
Bradley “Brad” Dixon Cincinnati, OH, ppageno@aol.com
Susan Zimmerman has recently published the book, Wayne County Fair Horse Racing 1869-1880. For more information, check out http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/suzimmerman. Erinn Maury (emaury@gmail.com) sent an update that she is settling in after her move to Hawaii. She writes, “The new job is great. It's nice to work somewhere where the staff cares, the patients are appreciative and stuff gets done in a timely fashion. After work, I walk outside and there is sunshine and rainbows.” She says that the next phase of her journey is to learn how to stand-up paddle. Dori Farthing and her husband welcomed their second child, Emma Katherine Jagoda, into the world in August. She writes that all are well. Elise Bates Russell reports that she continues to work as the assistant director of Camp Westminster on Higgins Lake. She led a trip to the isle of Iona, Scotland,
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this past summer and wrote that it is “one of the most beautiful places on earth!” Her camp is also sporting a new website, thanks to the amazing capabilities of Peter James. Apparently, the word is now out among Presbyterian camps about Peter’s web design business. Elise traveled to Texas for the annual Presbyterian Church Camp and Conference Association in October, and she hopes to see Julie Gruber Delezenne ’03 there. Elise also wrote that she heard from Jennifer Truman Brailer, who had a second daughter, Emma Marie, on July 28. Elise writes that they are all well!
1996
Michelle Perrigo Kalamazoo, MI, meesch@stratos.net
Emilie McLarnan Moscow, ID, emmclarnan@yahoo.com
1997
Jennie Nichols-Goodson Seville, OH, jennie_nichols@hotmail.com
Suzanne M. Fletcher Canton, OH, siouxfletch@yahoo.com
Ryan Boeding has spent the past five years of teaching French and coaching wrestling and rugby at a Jesuit high school in his hometown of Toledo. He then got the itch to earn his master’s and decided to move east to do it. He will be pursuing a M.A.T. in French at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and looks forward to meeting up with anyone who is in the area. Ayesha Hardaway has been promoted to Counsel with Tucker Ellis & West, a practice that includes defending some of the nation’s leading electrical and pharmaceutical manufacturers. Before this promotion, she was an assistant prosecuting attorney for the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office. Ayesha is currently on the Corporate Leadership Team of the American Heart Association, co-chair of the High School internship Program and 3R’s team captain with the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, an executive committee board member with the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center and a member of DRI’s Young Lawyer Committee. I ( Jennie) have finished another year in my dental practice. I ran my first half marathon in May and have already signed up for another. I am excited to skijor with my Siberian husky again in this cool weather. I would love to hear from anyone
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and everyone! Keep sending in your updates!
1998
Terah Robbin Webb 3145 McCammon Chase Dr., Lewis Center, OH 43035, twebb@medvetohio.com
1999
Deborah Krudwig Gutowski Lyndhurst, OH, Wooster1999@aol.com
Kerry Hardy Calfee and husband Sharif welcomed Malia Fallon on Sept. 19, 2011. Malia is doing well and “Big Sister” Maiya (2) is overjoyed with her new little sister. Christy Rauch McDaniel is in her sixth year teaching high school physics. She lives in Alexandria, Va., with husband Colin and twoyear-old daughter, Joanna. Cami Smith is enjoying the success of the new album released by her band: Lexington Field. Titled Old Dirt Road, the group’s first full-length album features their distinctive style of Irish-American folk punk. They've been together since 2007 and are based in San Diego, Calif. You can find Cami and Lexington Field on Facebook to hear more about the adventures!
Huntingdon—a suburb of Pittsburgh—and went to Duquesne University School of Law. I opened my own law firm nearly three years ago and have been practicing law ever since. I also teach paralegal writing and case analysis at Duquesne. It’s great to be on a college campus, but it’s not quite like being at Wooster. From Ryan Clark Kurty: “It's hard to believe, but Pete Kurty and I celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary this past June. We live in Dublin, Ohio, with our two beautiful daughters, Emery (3) and our new addition, Hadley, born Sept. 8. Since graduating from Wooster, Pete has worked for Columbus City Schools, earned his master’s and administrative license from The Ohio State University and is now in his fifth year as principal of West Broad Elementary School. I (Ryan) work as an account director for GSW Worldwide, an advertising agency specializing in pharmaceutical marketing. We keep in touch with quite a few friends from Wooster and are always happy to hear from others. People can find us on Facebook under my name or via email at ryankurty@gmail.com.” This September, Heidi Buffington finished seventh in her age group (30-34) in the Spanish National Triathlon Championships (Olympic distance) in Vigo, Spain.
2000
Evan Berliner 320 Parklawn Dr., Rocky River, OH 44116 emberliner@yahoo.com
2001
Niccole Cook Atwell
cpow7@yahoo.com 517 Robineau, Syracuse, N.Y.
170 Parkfel Ave., Pitts, PA 15237 NAtwell00@alumnimail.wooster.edu
Katherine Ritchie 3271 Longspur Dr., Col., OH 43228 kvritchie@sbcglobal.net
From Heather Trubee Brown (htrubee@hotmail.com): “Has it really been 11 years since we graduated?! After Wooster, I (Heather) served three years in the Peace Corps in Thailand. When I returned to the United States, I went back to school for a M.A. in anthropology and museum management. I’ve been in sunny Tampa for four years and am the curator of education at the Henry B. Plant Museum. Last year, I married Racine Brown. If any Wooster grads are in Tampa, I'd love to hear from you.” Ryan Dansak checks in from Pennsylvania: “After graduation, I moved to the Philadelphia area and got a M.A. in English from Arcadia University. Then I moved back to my hometown, North
Chris Powers Kerri Daly Luckner welcomed her first child, a little girl named Sydney Michelle, on July 11, 2011. Kerri also earned her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from Kent State University and passed her licensure exam. She is working as a licensed professional counselor at Recovery Resources in Cleveland. On Aug. 1, she and her husband celebrated their second wedding anniversary. Matthew Frank married Erin Toohey ’07 on Aug. 20 at the Fieldcrest in North Canton, Ohio. Congratulations, Matt and Erin! Pastor Jacob Johnson (dyknowhim@aol.com) reports: My installation as pastor at Growing Valley Baptist Church in Lancaster, Calif., was great! Check out the photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eightysedub/set s/72157627225708023/ Last June, I (Chris) took a new job as a public relations account manager at Pinckney
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ClassNotes Hugo Group in Syracuse, N.Y. I celebrated my first wedding anniversary to Emily Kulkus on Oct. 30. We live in Syracuse with our dog, Rollie. Drop me a line at cpow7@yahoo.com or at the newly created College of Wooster Class of 2001 Facebook page to send in your news.
2002
Liz Farina Markel Chicago, IL, liz.farina@gmail.com
2003
Hannah Russell Brooklyn, NY, hwr203@nyu.edu
Kendra Heffelbower Washington, D.C. kheffelbower@yahoo.com
Marta Zaborowski Ukropina Grapevine, TX, mzabu2@gmail.com
2004
Sarah Siebert Lakewood, OH, sarahksiebert@yahoo.com
Rachel Cole has created a new business that offers “coaching and creative projects for a full and well-fed life.” Check it out at www.rachelwcole.com! In June 2011, Stacia Kock received her Ph.D. in women’s studies from The Ohio State University, where her dissertation focused on feminist political theory, citizenship studies and antipoverty activism in the United States. She is currently a visiting assistant professor at Wooster in the women’s, gender and sexuality studies program. In November, Eliza Cramer moved to Haddon Heights, N.J., where she is serving as the pastor of their First Presbyterian Church. She would love to meet up with alumni in the area.
2005
Nicole Greene 922 Asbury Ave., Evanston, Ill. ngreene83@gmail.com
Andrew Hillyer 35 Park Place, Apt. 3 Brooklyn, N.Y. 11217 awhillyer@gmail.com
Shoshana Raskas (sraskas@gmail.com) writes: Greetings! So much has happened since I last wrote. Over Labor Day weekend I got engaged to my partner of four years, Pablo Gonzalez Aguilar. He surprised me with the proposal on a backpacking trip after getting altitude sickness at 10,347 feet. We are so excited! I had a great internship
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experience this summer with Deloitte Consulting in Sacramento, Calif., and I am completing my M.P.A. this year at the University of Southern California. Between wedding planning, job hunting, school and volunteering, I am going to be busy. Cheers!
2006 Kim Chambers kimberly.m.chambers@gmail.com
Robin York Laubenthal graduated in August from the University of MissouriKansas City with a M.A. in counseling and guidance. She and her husband, Christopher Laubenthal ’05, are expecting their first child in March 2012. Bethany Comella spent a month last summer traveling through Europe visiting Iceland, England, Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Gibraltar, Spain and France. Bethany is in her last year of studies for her M.S. in international studies at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, N.Y. Corey Maras and Amber Johnson were married in DePew, N.Y. on Sept. 3, 2011. The couple went on their honeymoon to Australia and New Zealand in November. Hannah Graff is living in London, working with the National Heart Forum as a senior policy researcher. Sarah Hamerstone recently enrolled in Georgetown University’s M.B.A. program.
2007
Laska Blodgett is living in New York City and completing a master’s degree in sociology of education at Columbia Teachers College. Her new mailing address is 601 West 137th St. Apt. 23, New York City, NY 10031. Beth Greive is a graduate assistant through Carolina Institute for Public Policy and is completing her master’s degree at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in educational psychology. Her new address 4407 Hopson Road Apt 3210, Morrisville, NC 27560.
2008
Carolyn Ciriegio Wooster, OH cciriegeio@wooster.edu
Kofi Yankey Accra, Ghana, kyankey08@wooster.edu
2009
Kabir Banerjee 9454 Seven Locks Rd., Bethesda, MD banerjee.kabir@gmail.com
Wyattt Shimeall 121 W. Southington Ave., Worthington, OH 43085 wyatt.shimeall@gmail.com
Ezra Raskas was promoted to regional director of enterprise sales for the Midwest at DrFirst and is regularly visiting health systems across his territory.
2010
Kaitlyn Evans
Franklin, IN, ms.culver@gmail.com
2301 41st St., N.W. Apt. 301 Washington, D.C. evans.kaitlynl@gmail.com
Beth Greive
Meret Nahas
Raleigh, NC, beth.greive@gmail.com
4 Sembrado, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688 mnahas@wooster.edu
Jennifer Culver
Erin Schaffner graduated from the University of Toledo College of Medicine in June and will be completing a pediatric residency at The Ohio State University Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Brad Ingraham married Melanie Antram last summer. They live in Marysville, Ohio and Brad is the legislative aide to State Senator Chris Widener, who is now the Senate’s finance committee chairman. Kelly Carroll just moved to Lakewood, Ohio, and is working as the manager of Browns Backers Global for the Cleveland Browns. Her official email is kcarroll@clevelandbrowns.com and her new mailing address is 9422 Clifton Blvd, Cleveland, OH 44102. Sibyl Williams graduated from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., with an M.S. in speech-language pathology.
Says Ramses Clements (rsc77@case.edu): I am currently in my second year at Case Western Reserve University studying community social development. I am looking to work as a director of policies or within a governmental office. I am currently interning through Case at Senator Sherrod Brown’s office in downtown Cleveland, where my main specialties are Social Security, Medicare and education. I will also assist with housing, transportation, the VA department and pretty much any major issue in the country. I plan to graduate this coming May. I am very much appreciative of my Wooster training in the classroom, field experience and sports, all of which have helped to get me to where I am now. Grace Hansen writes: I have been working at the New England Journal of
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’ << ’66 GATHERING IN NORTH CAROLINA TO R: Chalmers Brumbaugh, Pam Brumbaugh, Jim Brown, Suz Brown, Bob Johnson, Bruce Arnold, Gerry Meyer ’66
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<KELLERS ON MT. BISOKE
Jay and Anna Keller ’79 hiked Mount Bisoke while visiting Jay’s brother in Rwanda this summer.
Medicine since Nov. 2010. I just moved in with my partner, Mitch, and I am enjoying the fact that Jonah Comstock and Caroline Drozdiak ’11 both appear to have set down in Boston for some amount of time. (I suspect more Wooster grads will be following them!) I can be reached at grace.k.hansen@gmail.com.
2011
Kyle Thomas 2801 Edgewood Ave. S St. Louis Park, MN 55426 kylerobert.thomas@gmail.com
Nana Boamah-Acheampong 3035 Hollybank Rd., Reynoldsburg, OH 43068 nana.boamaha@gmail.com
John Ross reports: “I was recently hired by the Cleveland Clinic as a sports marketing intern. I wrote my I.S. on America's top hospitals (the Cleveland Clinic among them) and how they use their websites for education on healthy lifestyles.” Nathan Laslow opened Oilerie Columbus, a franchise olive oil bar and store in Grandview Heights, Ohio in October.
IN MEMORIAM ’09 Edward Atwood Pogue, Norton, Ohio, Nov. 11, 2011. At Wooster, he received a degree in history with a minor in ancient history. Edward is survived by his parents, brother and two sisters. ’92 Terrance A. Miller, Columbus Ohio, Oct. 6, 2011. At Wooster, Terrance was a
part of the Student Alumni Association and the Wooster Choral Union. Terrance’s life partner, mother, father, and four siblings, as well as aunts, nieces, nephews and cousins survive him. ’86 Andrea R. Kinder, Columbus, Ohio, May 14, 2011. Andrea was an English literature major. Her husband, two siblings, and nieces and nephews survive her. ’84 Oluwatoyin da-Silva, Long Beach, Calif., September 25, 2010. Toyin majored in political science and religion. His wife, mother, and five children survive him. ’84 Mary Louise Whitaker, Triadelphia, W.Va., Sept. 6, 2010. Mary majored in theatre and English and enjoyed being in multiple theatre productions. Her mother and brother survive her. ’80 Charles A. Baughman, Elk Grove, Calif., Oct. 3, 2011. At Wooster, Chuck was a member of the 7th Section and president of Wooster Stock Club. He graduated with a degree in economics. Chuck’s wife, three children, mother and two siblings survive him. ’73 Dean A. McQuown, Flossmoor, Ill., Nov. 10, 2010. Dean graduated from Wooster with a degree in economics. His favorite memories included playing tennis and living off campus in Germany, San Diego and in the neighborhoods of Wooster. Dean’s wife, two children and mother survive him. ’72 Nancy Rosser Hutchins, Sebastopol, Calif., Nov. 5, 2010. Nancy graduated Wooster with a degree in ceramics. Nancy is survived by her husband, son, daughter,
mother, and brothers Dr. Harry L. Rosser ’65 and Thomas J. Rosser ’69. ’70 Margaret Reid Klejna, Williamsburg, Mass., Sept. 19, 2011. Margo was a biology major and participated in the biology, chemistry, and German clubs, and the Young Democrats. Her husband, two children, three sisters, including Rosalind Reid x’75, and mother survive her. ’69 Helen Bissman Corbell, Marysville, Wash., Aug. 14, 2011. Helens’s three children, three grandchildren, and three siblings survive her. ’69 Linda McGrew Diomataris, McKeesport, Pa., Sept. 16, 2011. Linda is survived by her husband and son. ’69 Timothy R. Wright, Flemington, N.J., Nov. 30, 2011. At Wooster, Tim was the treasurer of the Third Section. He graduated with a degree in history. Tim’s wife, two sons, mother, brother, and sister survive him. ’68 James Anthony Grow, Montgomery, Tex., October 28, 2011. Tony majored in economics and enjoyed being a member of the scot marching band, concert band, chemistry club, and Young Democrats. His brother, Joel Grow ‘73, survives him. ’68 Virginia Metzler Blaney, Salisbury Cover, Maine, Nov. 10, 2011. At Wooster, Virginia received a degree in German, and studied abroad in Germany. She was a member of Kappa Epsilon Zeta and Wooster Symphonic Orchestra. Virginia is survived by her husband, three sons, two brothers, granddaughter and nieces and nephews.
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ClassNotes ’67 Nancy Mossbarger Laird, Stow, Ohio, Oct. 27, 2011. At Wooster, Nancy played the piccolo in the marching band and participated in the Wooster-in-Vienna Program. She was the secretary and treasurer of Eta Sigma Phi and the historian of Chi Alpha Chi. She graduated with a degree in Greek and Latin. Nancy is survived by her husband John L. Laird II ’67, three children, her parents, four siblings – including Jane Young ’75, her niece Susanne M. Purvis ’90 and her nephew Robert E. Purvis ’92. ’66 Philip R. Muller, Falls Church, Va., Oct. 22, 2011. At Wooster, Phil was in Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Alpha Theta and Delta Sigma Rho. He was also on the debate club and forensics team. He graduated Wooster with a degree in history. Philip is survived by his wife, Aliceann. ’66 Preston T. Ormsby, Rancho Mirage, Calif., Feb. 24, 2011. Preston’s mother, sister, and nieces survive him. ’65 Diana Kathryn Moseson Brown, Ellicott City, Md., Aug.17, 2011. Diana majored in psychology and English,, and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the Westminster Choir, and the Pyramids. ’65 George J. Hamrah, Jr., Mills, Mass., Sept. 6, 2011. George majored in political science and was a member of Second Section. His first wife, Betsy Reehorst ’65, and second wife survive him. ’65 G. William Kalb, Wheeling, W.Va., Oct. 20, 2011. Bill majored in chemistry and was a member of Second Section, the sailing club and chemistry club. His wife, stepson, Paul W. Keltzly ’95, two daughters, and exwife, Mary A. Compton ’64 survive him. ’64 Sharon Kathleen Yoder, Eugene, Ore., Sept. 15, 2011. At Wooster, Sharon was a member of Chem Club, Concert Choir, and Phi Sigma Iota. Sharon’s husband, two daughters, and two sons survive her. ’64 Charlotte Hastings Beck, Ojo Caliente, N.M., Oct. 7, 2011. At Wooster, Charlotte was a member of the Young Republicans, Concert Choir and Westminster Choir, and she worked on the Travel Bureau freshman and sophomore year. Charlotte is survived by her husband, two sons and two brothers. ’62 Harold R. Lehman, Philadelphia, Pa., Sept. 27, 2011. Harold was a member of varsity track and field, the men’s glee club, WCW, and the Congressional Club. His five siblings, including David E. Lehman ’64, nephew, Scott D. Lehman ‘x91, niece, Karin B. Lehman x’92, partner, and stepdaughter survive him. ’60 James L. Schreiber, Wooster, Ohio,
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Nov. 16, 2011. At Wooster, James was a member of the First Section, Wooster Symphony Orchestra and Delta Phi Alpha. He graduated with a music degree. James is survived by two brothers, one being Dr. Stephen T. Schreiber ’67, and nieces and nephews. ’59 William H. Black, Marie, Mich., Sept. 7, 2010. William attended Wooster for one year. ’56 Virgil L. Musser, Lady Lake, Fla., Nov. 17, 2011. At Wooster, Virgil’s activities included varsity football, the Young Democrats, The Corporation, the Congressional Club, varsity debate, student senate and S.F.R.C. Virgil graduated Wooster with a degree in political science. His wife, daughter, son, stepdaughter, two sisters, including Donna Slater ’58, his brother and brother-in-law, Charles T. Slater ’58 survive him. ’54 Francis Wood Park, Phoenix, Ariz., Nov. 14, 2011. At Wooster, Francis was the business manager of the Voice, editor of the student directory, on the WCW radio staff and head manager of the football team. He was also a member of the Congressional Club, international relations club, Young Republicans and the Second section. He earned a degree in political science. Francis is survived by his wife, Sue J. Park ’54, his son, two daughters and grandchildren. ’54 Donald W. Rath, Manasquan, N.J., Sept. 26, 2011. Donald majored in geology. His wife, four children, eight grand children, and three siblings survive him. ’53 Mary Ronsheim Ford, Cadiz, Ohio, Aug. 16, 2011. Mary majored in biology. She participated in the Westminster choir, was on the Voice staff, and was a member of the Trumps social club and Kappa Theta Gamma. She married Thomas R. Ford ’54. Her husband, nephew, Rev. Douglas M. Ronsheim ’71, niece, Martha S. Butler x’72, and great-nephew, Wade L. Gibson ’94, survive her. ’53 Mary Martin Webster McCullough, Englewood, Fla., Aug. 1, 2011. Mary majored in history and was a member of the Wooster Chorus, Pi Kappa, the Women’s Athletic Association, and the Wooster Symphonic Orchestra. Her husband and five children survive her. ’50 Patricia Hawk Clyde, Ann Arbor, Mich., Nov. 27, 2011. At Wooster, Pat was a member of the First Congressional Club. She, along with her husband, David S. Clyde ’50, were the recipients of the 2000 John D. McKee Alumni Volunteer Award for their support of Wooster over many years. Pat’s
husband, David S. Clyde ’50; daughter; three sons; granddaughter, Heather L. Closen ’80; great nephew, James B. Love ’15; niece, Susan E. Love x’76; and sister, Marjorie H. Edwards x’52, survive her. ’52 Albert P. Sysma, Wash., D.C., Sept. 13, 2011. Albert majored in physics and was a member of the Eighth Section. Albert’s wife, two children, and one stepdaughter survive him. ’51 Nancy Josephine Wright Kirtley, Danville, Ind., Aug. 14, 2011. Nancy’s three children, six grandchildren, and brother survive her. ’49 Roland Barney Lehman, Naples, Fla., Sept. 26, 2011. Roland’s partner, brother Roger L. Lehman ’52, son, and stepchildren survive him. ’49 John S. Thomas, Tuscon, Ariz., Sept. 19, 2011. John was a psychology major and a member of the Congressional Club. His wife, children, and brother survive him. ’49 William E. Lenhart, Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 16, 2011. Before attending Wooster, William was in the Air Force for over three years. He majored in geology and lived in the Sixth Section. William’s sister, two children, and five grandchildren survive him. He is predeceased by his wife, Jacquelyn Kocialek Lenhart ’49. ’49 Frank W. McAdams, Dalton, Ohio, Oct. 23, 2011. Frank was a history major. His brother, nieces, and nephews survive him. ’48 Richard P. Gaver, Adrian, Mich., Sept. 3, 2011. At Wooster, Richard worked in the chemistry lab and was baseball captain his senior year. He studied history and physical education. Richard was predeceased by his son, Charles R. Gaver ’75. His two daughters, four grandsons and three great-grandchildren survive him. ’48 Lawrence R. Hayden, Brooklyn, N.Y., Oct. 13, 2011. He focused his studies on American literature and after completing graduate work, returned to teach at Wooster. His wife, Isa Laura Hayden x’55, and son survive him. ’48 Mary Ann Keibler Taylor, Andover, Mass., June 21, 2011. Mary Ann majored in geology. While at Wooster, she met her future husband, Robert E. Taylor ’48. Her three children, including Patricia Taylor Dimick ’81 survive her. ’47 Myra Vandersall Siegenthaler, Newton Center, Mass., Oct. 4, 2011. Myra graduated with a degree in English. Her three cousins, Megan Stypczynski ’00, Brent Stypczynski ’00 and Elizabeth Hanks (Vandersall) ’43, four children and nine grandchildren survive her.
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’47 Eunice Virginia Mader Woidke, Valparaiso, Ind., Aug. 17, 2011. Eunice majored in speech and language and was a member of Sphinx and Kappa Kappa Gamma. Her four children, four grandchildren, and three great grandchildren survive her. ’47 Lawrence R. Gabriel, Wooster, Ohio, Nov. 26, 2011. Larry enjoyed playing trombone in the marching and concert bands, participating in Little Theater, and being a member of The Corporation while at Wooster. Later in life, he was a class agent, a reunion committee member, a member of the alumni band and on the Campaign for Wooster Volunteers. He was also an alumni member of the board at Wooster. His two sons, Frederick H. Gabriel x’75 and Russell Gabriel x’78, and his sister, Alfie Campbell ’41, survive him. ’46 Martha Kelley Baganz, Charlottesville, Va., Nov. 10, 2011. Martha attended Wooster for one and a half years. Martha’s two sons, including Bruce P. Baganz ’73, and her daughter survive her. ’44 Margaret W. Neely, Lakeland, Fla., Oct. 31, 2011. Margaret majored in history and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the International Relations Colloquium, Phi Alpha Theta, and Delta Gamma Phi. Later she volunteered with the Campaign for Wooster Volunteers. Margaret’s son, John M. Neely ’78, her daughter, Mary B. Neely ’69, and her granddaughter, Angela M. Neely ’14 survive her. ’43 Robert O. August, Wooster, Ohio, Sept. 9, 2011. Robert majored in history and was a member of Phi Alpha Theta, Campaign for Wooster Volunteer, and Land O’Scots. He also earned three varsity letters in baseball. He met his wife, Marilynn Eccles, in August ’44, at Wooster. His wife, sister, daughter Alison August McCulloch ’68, and three grandchildren, including Sarah McCulloch ’97, survive him. ’43 Elizabeth M. McPhee Hodgson, Spring Hill, Fla., Aug. 2, 2011. Elizabeth majored in English and speech and was a member of the Voice staff, the speech club, the dramatics club and debate. Her husband, daughter, niece, and grandson survive her. ’43 Alice J. Walker Thomas, Euclid, Ohio, Oct. 11, 2011. Alice was a member of the psychology club and the sociology club. Her sister and nephew survive her. ’42 Norma Powell Kolesar, Monroeville, Pa., Oct. 17, 2011. At Wooster, Norma was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Delta Phi Alpha. Norma is survived by her husband, son, granddaughter, two sisters and many
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nieces and nephews. ’42 Martha Jane Robinson Gillespie, Wooster, Ohio, Aug. 15, 2011. Jane majored in German and voice. She was a member of the glee club, choir, German club, and the Imps. She was recognized as a top German student and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. She married David Grier Gillespie ’40. Her four children and six grandchildren survive her. ’42 Roderick Clark MacDonald, West Yarmouth, Mass., Aug. 24, 2011. Clark majored in mathematical sciences and was a member of the baseball team. In 1945 he married Tillie Walker ’43. His two children, including Rev. Roderick A. MacDonald ’71, and his sister, Janet MacDonald Johnston ’50, survive him. ’41 Christena M. Bryson Kern, Olmsted Falls, Ohio, Oct. 12, 2011. Christena majored in psychology and was a member of the psychology club, Zeta Phi Gamma, Pembroke, and student senate. Her three children and three grandchildren survive her. ’41 Robert J. Politi, Cleveland, Ohio, Jan. 23, 2011. Robert attended Wooster for two years. He is survived by his niece. ’41 Anne Ward Carson Snyder, Louisville, Ohio, Sept. 10, 2011. Anne majored in sociology and was a member of the Corner Club. She met her husband, the late Leonard W. Snyder ’41, at Wooster. Her three children, five grandchildren, including Megan Whinery Stypczynski ’00, and six great-grandchildren survive her. ’40 Charles A. Chesley, Shreveport, La., Oct. 9, 2011. Charles played football and baseball at Wooster. His wife, son, two daughters, seven grandchildren, and four great grandchildren survive him. ’40 Mary Marshall Porter, Connellsville, Pa., Sept. 2, 2011. Mary’s two daughters, three grandchildren and one great-granddaughter survive her. ’40 Edith King Yoder, Goshen, Ill., July 28, 2011. Edith graduated with a degree in sociology. She was a member of the Westminster Choir. Her three children and five grandchildren survive her. ’39 Helen Greene Riddle, New Bern, N.C., April 20, 2011. At Wooster, Helen was a member of Pi Kappa Lambda and participated in Fortnightly Music. She graduated from Wooster with a degree in music. Helen is survived by her husband, four children – including Julia E. Ehle ’71 and Paul A. Riddle ’74, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren. ’39 Martha Alice Meloy Tennent, Greenville, N.C., Aug. 16, 2011. Martha majored in chemistry and was the class
secretary in 1939. Her four children, five grandchildren, one great grandchild, and sister survive her. ’39 Sara Margaret Frantz Terrien, Wendell, Mass., July 26, 2011. Sara received her BA in French literature after transferring to Wooster her junior year. She was a member of the French club and the choir. Her four children, including Cecile TerrienLampton ’66, six grandchildren, five great grandchildren, and two siblings survive her. ’37 Katherine Huston Recker, Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 9, 2011. At Wooster, Katherine was involved in Big Sister, theatre presentations, women’s glee club, Delta Delta Rho, and the YWCA cabinet. She graduated with a degree in English. Katherine’s daughter, stepdaughter, daughter-in-law, 11 grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren survive her. ’37 Mary Jane Bricker Sterrett, Cucamonga, Calif., Aug 21, 2011. Mary Jane’s two nephews survive her. ’37 Ruth Rifenberick Suter, Rydal Pa., Oct. 15, 2011. Ruth majored in Greek and Latin and was a member of Eta Sigma Phi and Phi Sigma Iota. She met Paul L. Suter while at Wooster and married him shortly after they graduated. Her two daughters, Anne L. Seltzer ’64 and Janet R. Joshua ’67, survive her. ’34 Margaret Hawkins Byington, Golden, Colo., Sept. 12, 2011. Margaret was a member of the girls’ glee club, the Index staff, and Pi Kappa. Her two children, six grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren survive her. ’32 Dorothy Simpson Schlossnagel, Port Charlotte, Fla., Nov. 3, 2009. Dorothy graduated first in her class with a degree in French and English. Her two stepchildren, five grandchildren and three great grandchildren survive her.
Obituaries In order to publish news of alumni deaths in a timely way, the magazine will provide abbreviated obituaries— information about life events that relate to College experiences. More complete obituaries are published online at www.woosteralumni.org/obituaries.
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Donors to The Wooster Fund
The
Wo os t e r F u n d W hy ever y voice matters Are you in this chart? If yes, thank you! If no, give us 15 seconds, and we’ll tell you why your gift is important, no matter what its amount. Of course we need you because many small gifts create powerful collective giving. And there’s a second reason: alumni participation is a factor in college rankings, such as the one done by U.S. News and World Report. Giving is an important expression and measurement of “alumni satisfaction.” For all you do: Thank you. Your voice matters.
Make your difference today. To give securely online go to https://wooster.edu/fund Gifts may also be made by check or stock transfer. Call 330-263-2508 for more information.
by class, fiscal 2010-2011 Class year
1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970
Class percentage
100.00% 100.00% 55.56% 33.33% 25.00% 25.00% 62.50% 54.55% 45.00% 45.95% 52.83% 61.22% 50.00% 60.66% 70.37% 55.10% 70.73% 69.57% 62.22% 70.00% 71.53% 77.03% 80.82% 68.64% 69.23% 67.11% 64.00% 57.24% 67.79% 58.79% 76.92% 70.17% 68.75% 65.95% 66.03% 60.19% 52.28% 51.89% 52.63% 48.05%
Class year
1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Class percentage
55.22% 48.31% 42.64% 45.23% 45.49% 42.37% 36.43% 38.63% 34.93% 37.02% 38.95% 31.96% 32.52% 34.24% 31.36% 25.07% 34.57% 29.27% 27.51% 25.32% 15.87% 23.38% 28.57% 31.28% 25.50% 10.36% 31.10% 33.64% 26.88% 26.17% 20.89% 20.98% 21.37% 13.45% 22.37% 16.40% 30.68% 26.58% 17.63% 26.26%
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EVERY
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The heart of Wooster is faculty and students, working together to create leaders of character and influence.
M AT T E R S
THE WOOSTER F UND This year, and every year, the Wooster Fund supports: • Exceptional teachers who make a difference in the lives of students • Highly capable students who change their communities • Innovative programs that bring together dedicated faculty and engaged students There is much to accomplish and your partnership is vital. Tuition and endowment income alone does not fully fund Wooster’s distinctive education.
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I N D E P E N D E NT M I N D S, WO R K I N G TO G ETH E R
The College of Wooster | 108 Ebert Art Center 1220 Beall Avenue | Wooster, OH 44691-2393
In Closing MAHOUT WAS H I NG H I S E LE PHANT At the Elephant Training Center, Chiang Dao, Thailand Christine Evans â&#x20AC;&#x2122;11 Elephant drivers, or mahouts, usually begin taking care of an elephant when both are young, and the two often remain bonded throughout their lives. In Thailand, only five percent of elephants are still wild; the majority have been domesticated and many are used in the tourism industry for rides, shows, and treks. There are many elephant training centers like the one in Chiang Dao throughout Thailand, although some also serve as elephant hospitals. Religious studies major Christine Evans, who participated in the Wooster in Thailand program, was one of approximately 145 students who studied off campus in 2010-2011.
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