Winter 2008 CA Magazine
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The winter 2008 issue of CA magazine.
Transcript of Winter 2008 CA Magazine
winter 2008
Remember When?
CONCORD ACADEMY MISSION
Concord Academy engages its students in a community
animated by a love of learning,
enriched by a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives,
and guided by a covenant of common trust.
Students and teachers work together as a community of learnersdedicated to intellectual rigor and creative endeavor. In a caring andchallenging atmosphere, students discover and develop talents asscholars, artists, and athletes and are encouraged to find their voices.
The school is committed to embracing and broadening the diversityof backgrounds, perspectives, and talents of its people. Thisdiversity fosters respect for others and genuine exchange of ideas.
Common trust challenges students to balance individual freedomwith responsibility and service to a larger community. Such learningprepares students for lives as committed citizens.
Karen Mandelbaum ’07
Untitled, Oil on Masonite, Painting 3, 2006
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winter 2008
F E A T U R E S
9 The Upside of AdversityBill Frusztajer, 2007 Davidson Lecturer
16 Remember When?Evolving Traditions and a Rich History Create TimelessCA Memoriesby Gail Friedman INCLUDING:
In The Beginning: 2007 Convocation Speechby Sylvia MendenhallLeapin’ Lizardsby Ingrid von Dattan Detweiler ’61 Top This: The Class of 2002 Ring Huntby Maria Harris ’02
31 A New Arena for Concord AcademyLand Purchase Will Solve Many of CA’s Space Problemsby Lucille Stott
34 Who’s New?Meet the Latest Additions to CA’s Board of Trustees
36 Why Access Mattersby John McGarry, Director of Financial Aid
38 CA Bookshelfby Martha Kennedy, Library Director
D E P A R T M E N T S
2 Message from the Head of School
3 Letters to the Editor
4 Campus News
10 Alumnae/i ProfilesJonathan Nelson ’76 Penelope Weadock Slough ’46Sophronia Camp ’67Betsy Blume ’82by Nancy Shohet West ’84
15 Alumnae/i Association Update
41 Arts
45 Athletics2007 Fall HighlightsProfile: Coach Tim Hult by Gail Friedman
48 In Memoriam
Editor
Gail Friedman
Managing Editor
Tara Bradley
Design
Irene Chu ’76
Editorial Board
Tara BradleyDirector of Communications
Gail FriedmanAssociate Director of Communications
Pam SaffordAssociate Head for Enrollment and Planning
Carol ShoudtMajor Gifts Officer
Lucille StottAdvancement Writer
Meg WilsonDirector of Advancement
Elizabeth “Billie” Julier Wyeth ’76Director of Alumnae/i Programs
Editorial Interns
Samuel Kim ’08Alexis von Kunes Newton ’08Christeen Savinovich ’08
Photography Interns
Henry Butman ’08Clara Dennis ’08Jiyoon Lee ’09
Write us
Concord Academy Magazine166 Main StreetConcord, Massachusetts 01742(978) 402-2200 [email protected]
© 2008 Concord Academy
Committed to being a schoolenriched by a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives,Concord Academy does not discriminate on the basis of sex,race, color, creed, sexual orien -tation, or national or ethnic origin in its hiring, admissions,educational and financial policies,or other school-administered programs. The school’s facilitiesare wheelchair accessible.
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or most of my adult life, I have been keenly aware of the power of traditions. I grew up in a home
where our family celebrated our nationalroots and the traditions that were part ofour heritage. Then, when I left home toattend college in the 1960s, I discoveredthat traditions that had functioned fordecades, if not centuries, were comingunder scrutiny and criticism—from “tra-ditional” views of gender and race toestablished religious, moral, and politicalpractices. These challenges to the estab-lished order caused significant strain onmany people, but they were exhilaratingto an eighteen-year-old working on forg-ing his own values and beliefs.
Throughout that socially turbulentera and into the 1970s, when I beganteaching history, many of my early beliefswere changed or influenced by what Iwas seeing and experiencing. But therewas one belief that never wavered, and itconcerned what makes education work.While a variety of experimental teachingmethods began to supplant older styles, Inever stopped believing that the core of agreat education consists of a teacher and astudent learning together. I had valuedthe close relationships I had had with myteachers, and now I was enjoying suchrelationships with my own students. Forme it was—and still is—about inspiringeach other to learn for learning’s sake.
So when I first came to CA andobserved the school in action, I knew itwas committed to one of the most impor-tant traditions in education, and one thatwould not yield to the whims of fashion:the student-teacher bond. Now that Ihave experienced life at CA for eightyears, I see the larger context in whichthis bond is allowed to form. It has to dowith the school’s special relationship totraditions. CA students and faculty valueestablished patterns of thought and actionand seek to learn why they have been
effective. Yet the CA community hasalways been known for its open and ques-tioning environment, which often leadsto the questioning of traditions and thebreaking of patterns.
This coexistence of tradition andinnovation enriches all that goes on here.CA traditions connect today’s students toyesterday’s students, all of whom sharemany common feelings about what it’slike to learn at CA. These shared practicesalso provide students with the assurancethat there is a timeless quality to theirlearning—a universal aspect to what theydo here. On the other hand, I enjoy see-ing students question what we all mightconsider “givens.” It’s this questioningthat leads them either to a deeper under-standing of what is important or to a firmdetermination to make change happen.Both of these impulses—the desire to feelpart of something bigger than themselvesand the desire to have an impact—areimportant qualities of an education thatlasts for life.
As you read this issue of the maga-zine, know that its theme of CA tradi-tions captures what is best about theschool, its habit of looking outward aswell as inward, of looking back as well asforward. The stories of creative adapta-tions of cherished traditions might alsoremind you of why the chameleon is stillour mascot.
I hope you will enjoy the issue andthat you let us know of any traditions wemay have left out that were important toyour own CA experience.
An Innovative Take on Tradition
Guess whose core beliefs were influencedby the socially turbulent sixties and
seventies: Head of School Jake Dresden’s(pictured with son Josh in 1972).
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AFTER READING in the alumnae/imagazine that Dr. Teichgraeber is retiringand enjoying Alex Berlin’s apt tribute,I’m offering a hail and farewell fromanother grateful student.
Dr. T is the best teacher I’ve ever had.His classes inspired me to make a lifegrounded on words. Now a rhetoric andcomposition professor, I write about how to help students think with com-plexity and craft with care. And so, since Dr. Teichgraeber is one of my role mod-els as a teacher, I’ve been pondering his pedagogical frameworks. What is the stuff his magic is made of? Yet I can’t pinpoint anything, only describe my ownexperiences.
First of all, Dr. Teichgraeber was thefirst English teacher who pushed me tothe limit. Meticulous, maddening, andmesmerizing, he assigned hard readingand expected students to understand it.The texts he chose grabbed word-obsessed adolescents. Like most teen -agers, we percolated with angst, desires,silliness, and rebellion. T.S. Eliot’s TheWaste Land, for example, reflected myinternal muddle. In a way, I felt thepoem mirrored my attempts to forge atransformed (if tenuous) whole, blendingmy past with the new experiences, con-crete knowledge, and ways of thinkingthat CA offered.
Then there were those essay com-ments. I was used to a short evaluationscribbled on the top of a paper. But thepolyphiloprogenitive Dr. T interacted
with our efforts. We grinned at the pic-tures even while cringing at the words.The good Doctor once called my writingeither “torpid” or “turgid.” It stung. I’vestruggled for clear, precise, and vigorousprose since. Countless college studentshave heard me squawk “Omit needlesswords!” like a parrot raised on Strunkand White. They might not thank Dr. Tfor it, but I do.
A quotation from Northrop Frye’sAnatomy of Criticism (Teichgraeberrequired reading) has stuck with me for twenty-eight years. Frye writes, “Webegin to wonder if we cannot see litera-ture . . . as spread out in conceptual space from some kind of center that criticism could locate.” He’s arguing thatonly through systematic criticism can we tease out the countless convergingpatterns in “masterpieces” (Frye’sword)—patterns I’d sensed but couldn’tarticulate. Literature study didn’t have to be mushy! According to Frye, itshould be as “coherent and progressive asthe study of science . . . [with a] preciselysimilar training of the mind.” Voilà—anacademic was spawned. (I’m not sure this was ever Dr. T’s intent . . .)
Perhaps twisting Frye impermissibly,I’d say that, for many students, Dr. T’sclassroom constituted Frye’s quasi-mystical “center.” I can visualize the roomnow, air warm and stagnant in the lateafternoon sun. Yet its atmosphere—theinterplays of text and criticism, questionsasked, answers offered, ideas generated,possibilities evoked—spread out throughalumnae/i’s lives and careers like rippleson Walden Pond.
But are we then so serious? Thanks,Dr. Teichgraeber. Enjoy whatever comesnext!
Julia Garbus ’81
Corrections
In the 2006–07 Report of Giving, Stuart Warnershould have been listed as cochair of the Class of1977 Reunion Committee and as an Annual Givingdonor. We’d like to express our thanks to Stuart for her generosity and for her hard work on behalfof the reunion.
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Concord Academy magazine
welcomes letters to the editor.
Please send corre spondence to
or to Concord Academy, 166 Main
Street, Concord, Massa chusetts
01742.
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Dr. T: Meticulous, maddening, andmesmerizing
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hen Drew Gilpin Faust ’64 was inaugurated
as president of Harvard Uni -versity in October, she invitedseveral of her favorite teachersto participate, including threefrom Con cord Academy:English teacher and advisorSylvia Mendenhall, mathteacher Audrey “Didi” Stod -
dard, and history teacher Jim Parker.
“We were in a groupcalled ‘special friends,’ saidMenden hall. “We got to marchin the rain, in the procession,from Boylston Street to right infront of the church.” Specialfriends also included teachersfrom Faust’s elementary
school, from Bryn MawrCollege, and from theUniversity of Pennsylvania.
The Harvard Crimsonasked Mendenhall to writeabout Faust. Following areexcerpts from “Drew atConcord,” published in thecampus newspaper on Faust’sinauguration day.
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Faust Invites CA Teachers to Harvard Inauguration
• “. . . by 1960 Elizabeth Hall had injectedinto the school a new spirit and sense ofpurpose. No longer were the girls focusedon the upcoming debutante world and alifetime focused solely on marriage andfamily. Instead, women were viewed asactive do-ers for whom all possibilities wereopen.
• In the summer of 1956, Hall, together witha group of faculty and a student, dismantleda chapel in . . . NH, board by board andrebuilt it board by board (includ ing the laborand encouragement of all the classes) onthe Concord Academy campus. With Hall ashead, Concord students learned thatwomen could run tractors, paint clapboards,participate in town meetings, pursuedreams. The possibilities of action wereunlimited. It was this spirit that attractedDrew to Concord Academy.
• At the opening faculty meeting in the fall of1960, the Concord Academy teachers werealerted to the arrival of a new freshmanboarder from a small town in Virginia. Shewas only twelve years old, about to bethirteen. It seemed likely that she would behomesick, unsure of herself, slow to makefriends. Drew Gilpin—known in high schoolsimply as Drewdie—was none of thosethings.
• Confident, independent, eager to try newactivities, and filled with the spirit of fun,she launched herself into life at Concordwith enthusiasm. As a student, she wasexceptionally thoughtful and intelligent,quick to pick up academic challenges inclass and explore new ideas. As a writer,she learned to express herself clearly anddirectly, skillful in putting criticism to gooduse. Interested in ideas for their own sake,
she was able to excel in all areas —math,science, languages, history, and English.
• Other than her outstanding academicrecord, several of Drew’s achievementsstand out from her years at Concord. Firstcome her intuitive sense and how muchshe cares about how others feel. Secondcomes her talent in steering others towardmore productive and harmonious directions.Especially important, we see how she hasdeveloped the readiness to perceive newideas and the initiative to seize theopportunity to use them in moving bothpeople and institutions forward. Although Inever dreamed in the 1960s that Drewdiemight one day become president of HarvardUniversity, I believe that Harvard haschosen well . . .”
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he history students sat together in the darkened
room, whispering about theblank map of Africa projectedon the wall. “This is Liberia,”said one student, pointing tothe map. “No, that’s Ghana.Liberia’s over there,” a class-mate corrected her, pointingslightly west.
Dr. Patrick Seyon, formerpresident of the University ofLiberia, stood patiently as thestudents successfully labeledthe African countries he hadasked them to identify. Seyonhad been invited by historyteacher Stephanie Manzella tospeak to two sections of anupper-level course called
Things Fall Apart: Colonial andPost-Colonial Africa.
One of Seyon’s goalsseemed to be to clarify com-mon misconceptions aboutAfrica. One of the first thingshe told the students was, “If you don’t remember any-thing [from our discussiontoday], this you must not for-get: Africa is not a country,”empha sizing that it is a conti-nent four times the size of theUnited States with fifty-fourindependent countries.
Seyon, currently the deanof academic affairs at RoxburyCommunity College and aresearch fellow at the AfricanStudies Center at Boston
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University, described his expe-riences in Africa and histhoughts about the past, pres-ent, and future of the conti-nent. During the map exercise,he explained that the “crookedlines [which were drawn onthe map of Africa by colonialpowers] have been the subjectof much debate, pain, andagony.” These “lines,” Seyonsaid, were artificial, imple-mented to define people andgroups, and ultimately causedmuch of the conflict in Africa’shistory—themes heavily stud-ied in Manzella’s course.
Seyon went on to describethe series of major changesthe continent has seen since1885, most important the shift from colonial power toindependence. He talked aboutAfrica in the context of theglobal economy today, describ-ing some of the valuable natural resources that initiallyinfluenced the “scramble forAfrica,” which attracted colo-nizers years ago. Seyon alsoquestioned Africa’s future andtalked about his experiencewith education in Liberia.Seyon received his bachelor’sdegree from the University ofLiberia and went on to earn hisPhD at Stanford University.
Seyon ended his talk witha moving personal story aboutleaving Liberia for the UnitedStates in 1996, saying that thenight he left, the “warlordswho wanted my head . . . set
my house on fire,” becausethey felt threatened by hisdesire to educate the people.
Following his talk, Seyonencouraged comments andquestions, and spoke furtherwith a number of studentswho stayed to hear moreabout his experiences andthoughts, particularly about theimportance of educatingAfricans. Manzella’s studentsleft the lecture enlightened bySeyon’s words, ready to applyhis insights to the remainderof their course work.
Lessons from Liberia
by Alexis von Kunes Newton ’08
Moles and Guacamole
nce again, CA celebrated National Chemistry Week
with daily demos during morn-ing break (sending Mentosskyward, for instance, thanksto what happens when DietCoke hits the candy). Theweek centered around MoleDay, October 23 (in chemistrya mole is 6.022 x 1023
objects—hence 10/23, thedate for Mole Day).
During afternoon snack onMole Day, CA snacked on—what else?—guacamole. Science Department Head
Mike Wirtz explained why that was the food of choice:“Italian scientist AmedeoAvogadro was honoredposthumously for his workwith the number of gas mole-cules in a fixed volume by having the number 6.022 x1023 named after him; it iscalled Avogadro’s number.And Avogadro sounds a lot likeavocado,” he said. Further -more, he added: “You can’thave guacamole without themole.”
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Dr. Patrick Seyon, Eva Yuma ’08, Aidan Hanlon ’08, Mathis Bauchner’08, Joshua Reed-Diawoh ’09, and Alexis von Kunes Newton ’08
Science teacher Matt Shapiro helps students understand why a can of Coke sinks in water while a can of Diet Coke floats. It was one of thedaily demonstrations conducted during National Chemistry Week.
Dr. Seyon with history teacherStephanie Manzella
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By George!
ho knew George Washington could grow
tentacles representing thestock market, pop culture, andother facets of American soci-ety? Who knew he could weara midriff and a cheerleader’sskirt?
Concord Academy stu-dents were invited to partici-pate in a documentary aboutpresidential portrait artistGilbert Stuart by using coloredmarkers and some imaginationto complete unfinished por-traits of our first president.Stuart is best known for creat-ing the image on the dollar bill.
Filmmaker James Wolpawbrought unfinished portraits ofWashington to CA andunleashed the students. Freefrom firm direction, they couldturn George into anythingthey’d like. One portraitbecame George as octopus—with each arm representinga piece of American life.Another showed George wear-ing a ruffled shirt and pink boxers covered in dollar signs. The third was the cheekycheerleader outfit.
W Wolpaw plans to includethe finishing of the unfinishedportraits in his documentary, Stuart’s Washington: The Life of an American Image, cre-ated for the Corporation forPublic Broadcasting. He alsofilmed first graders, senior citizens, art students, andother groups completing theWashington portraits.
CA’s Director of AcademicTech nology Ben Stumpf ’88filmed the CA portion of thedocumentary. All the “fin-ished” portraits—includingthe three from CA—were displayed in early October onthe Boston Common.
Visiting Prof
atherine Bucknell ’75, author of What You Will,
Canarino, and LeninskyProspekt, visited CA inOctober and spoke with twoEnglish classes: The HiddenLuminous: Writing and Read -ing Poetry, taught by CammyThomas, and Sopho moreEnglish, taught by AyresStiles-Hall.
An expert on the works ofW. H. Auden and ChristopherIsherwood, Bucknell firsttaught a lesson on Auden,then discussed her fiction-writing—her curiosity aboutfinding her own voice whilewriting her first novel, and her realization that she couldwrite in more than one voice.
“Now,” she said, “I just try tobe inside a character’s head.”
Bucknell, who sharedexcerpts from her third novel,What You Will, also respondedto a student’s question aboutthe common suggestion thatemerging writers write aboutwhat they know. “I think writ-ing what you know is scary,”Bucknell said, explaining thatshe seeks “a place betweenuncomfortably personal andtoo remote.” There’s a differ-ence, she went on, betweenwriting about a personal expe-rience and putting yourself in the story. “I can put some-thing really personal into oneof my woman characters, butI know she isn’t me.”
A founder of the W. H.Auden Society, editor ofAuden’s Juvenilia: Poems1922–1928, and coeditor ofAuden Studies, Bucknell lives in London and is widelypublished in England. She also is the author and editor of Christopher Isherwood’sDiaries: Volume One,1939–1960; Lost Years: AMemoir, 1945–1951; and theforthcoming Diaries: VolumeTwo, 1960–1983.
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are blooming a little easiernow—thanks to a specialbreed of CA trash.
In September 2006, Con -cord Academy’s Green Clubadvertised an idea new to theschool: to collect compostablefood in the dining hall.
This caught the attentionof Amara Frumkin ’09, who,with other members of theGreen Club, quickly beganturning the composting ideainto action. CA’s compostingprogram began that same fall.
Composting in a school,they learned, is not easy. First,the community must under-stand what items can and cannot be composted. Forexample, fruit can be com-posted, while meat cannot.Second, and more important,the compost needs a place to go.
The Green Club gave theCA community a quick lessonon composting, encourag-ing everyone to embrace theprogram with humorousannouncements and attention-
grabbing signs in the dininghall. When a separate garbagebin was designated for com-postable products, the clubwatched proudly as the com-post piled up.
But the Green Club had todecide where to put the bagsupon bags of compost theycollected. They explored dif-ferent locations on campus,but the same problems aroseat each: not only is compostrather unsightly, it is not par-ticularly pleasing to the nose.
So the Green Clubapproached Gaining Ground, aConcord farm that growsorganic fruits and vegetablesfor the needy. Fortunately forboth CA and the farm, theGreen Club’s proverbial trashwas Gaining Ground’s treas-ure. Verena Wieloch, GainingGround’s farm coordinator,explained that compost isessential in sustaining the soilon Gaining Ground’s six acresof farmland. The farm is“always looking to replenishthe ground with more com-post,” she said, because it“dramatically changes the
quality of the soil.” She calledthe farm’s need for compost“bottomless,” and added that,shortly before the GreenClub’s offer, a nearby restau-rant that had long providedcompost stopped contributing. CA delivered its first load ofcompost to Gaining Ground inthe spring of 2007, and it wasa success both for the schooland the farm. This year, Amaraand Zoë Mueller ’08, the cur-rent coheads of EnvironmentalAffairs, are continuing thework that they and other stu-dents initiated last year.
Because Gaining Ground usesthe compost for specific pur-poses, “they have regulationsabout what can be in it,” Zoëexplained, so “our program isbased around their needs.”
Amara and Zoë haveencouraged even more com-posting with professionallydesigned instructional signs.And Gaining Ground is excitedabout further contributionsfrom Concord Academy.Compost is “so necessary” atthe farm that Wieloch said,“We wouldn’t be a farm any-more without it.”
Our Trash, Their Treasure
by Alexis von Kunes Newton ’08
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Bull-ish on Homefront
by Christeen Savinovich ‘08
oncord Academy film teacher Justin Bull
presented the short filmHome front, which he wroteand directed, to the CA community during a fallassembly.
Bull (left) worked onHome front, a personalresponse to the events ofSeptember 11, while com-pleting the Ameri can FilmInsti tute’s directing program.But it went on to premiere inDecember 2006, to be cho-sen for screening at theSeattle Film Festival and theDurango Indepen dent FilmFestival, to become a finalist
in the 2006 MoondanceInter national Film Festival,and to win the 2006 SecondAnnual Short Film Compe ti -t ion, sponsored by theChina-America Festival ofFilm and Culture.
The film deals withissues of racial profiling andpatriotism through the eyesof a veteran and father of afallen soldier. During aquestion-and-answer periodafter the film, Bull explainedthat it took two years andmany drafts for Home frontto develop from idea tofinal product.
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Waste not: Amara Frumkin ’09 and Zoë Mueller ’08, coheads of Environmental Affairs
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A L U M N A E / I U P D A T E S
Doris McMillon ’69,right, president and CEOof McMillon Communi -cations, in Octoberreceived the Top 100Minority Business Enter -prise Award. Chosen bythe University of Mary -land University College,the Governor’s Office ofMinority Affairs (GOMA),and the MarylandChamber of Commerce,award recipients areselected for achievementin business development, client satisfaction, profes-sional affiliations, and community outreach.
The Park School chose Adam Goldman ’04 to be its2007 Commencement speaker “because of his wit, his intellect, his leadership (both at Park and CA), hispassion for life and for the theatre, his warmth as aperson, his love for Park, [and] our deep affection forhim,” said Wanda Holland Greene, Park’s assistanthead. The preK–9 school, located in Brookline, Massa -chusetts, chooses a Park graduate and rising collegesenior to speak each year. Goldman is completing hisstudies at Bard College.
University of Denver sophomore Jessica Stone ’05
qualified for the Intercollegiate Horse Show Associa tionnational finals.
Several CA students and Academic Dean John Drew braved a frigid
Walden Pond in early December, all in the name of the fight to reduce
global warming. The Polar Plunge was part of protests organized
worldwide to coincide with the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali.
Grandparents’ Day
More than one hundred grand-parents of CA students visitedcampus on Grandparents’ andFriends’ Day in November. Theyattended classes with theirgrandchildren, met with Head ofSchool Jake Dresden, heardinsights from a student panel,and listened to the Chameleons,CA’s a cappella group, perform.The day ended with a receptionat the Concord home of Barbaraand David Southwell P ’06, ’09.Below, clockwise from top left:Marie Hammond, grandmotherof Nora Normile ’11 and ChessyNormile ’09, sketches Nora in adrawing class; Elise Wallace andMarlana Wallace ’08; WinifredEwing, Lily Lousada ’10, andPatricia Lousada; Nancy Simchesand Jeremy Owades ’10; Jeanneand Bill Donahue and DrewKeegan ’10.
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ences. On the contrary, he credited his wartimeyouth and his work in Siberian work camps formaking him stronger, teaching him how to turnadversity into success.
Frusztajer laced his mid-November talkwith unbridled patriotism, rejecting any popularnotion of America’s decline. “The capitalist sys-tem has risks, sometimes it goes up and down,”he said. “America will pull through.”
With optimism apparent throughout hispresentation, Frusztajer stressed that “every situ-ation has plusses,” and summed up his messagefor CA students: “Don’t have a knee-jerk reac-tion to bad things that happen.”
Frusztajer, the author of Surviving Siberiaand Thriving Under Capitalism, is also known forleading CA capably when he served on the Boardof Trustees from 1978 to 1984, the last four yearsas board president. His two daughters, LisaFrusztajer ’80 and Nina Frusztajer Marquis ’82,attended CA, and his granddaughter, MarinaLong ’10 is a current student.
The Davidson Lectureship was established in 1966 by Mr. and Mrs. R.W. Davidson in honor of their two daughters, Anne E. Davidson Kidder ’62and Jane S. Davidson ’64. Each year, the lectureshipenables a distinguished guest to speak to the CA community.
THE UPSIDE OF ADVERSITYBill Frusztajer: 2007 Davidson Lecturer
“MY TASK IS TO TAKE YOU to a worldwhich is very different from Concord Academy.”
And so he did. Bill Frusztajer, CA’sDavidson Lecturer, spoke of his happy child-hood in Poland and the abrupt turn of events in1939, when two million German troops pouredinto the country, armed with tanks and weapons.
Frusztajer and his family fled to easternPoland; his extended family was murdered inWarsaw, he said, “along with the rest of theJewish community.”
Frusztajer had survived that Nazi invasion,but his trauma had just begun. He describedbeing ordered into a cattle car “the size of a smallbedroom,” crowded with thirty-two men,women, and children. It was 1940, andFrusztajer spent much of the day killing time,the rest of it killing lice. The “mobile prison”took him to a concentration camp; from there hewas transported, mainly on slave ships, to the farreaches of Siberia. By age twelve, Frusztajer wasworking in a mine, underfed, underclothed, andsurrounded by prisoners, a third of whom didn’tmake it, including his mother.
But a resilient Frusztajer ended up living thequintessential American dream. Several yearsafter his liberation, in 1946, he moved to
London to live with an uncle and earned adegree from the University of London. A pio-neer in the field of transistors, Frusztajer optedto further his career in the U.S., arriving inAmerica in 1956 with one trunk of belongingsand less than $100.
Now known as an entrepreneur and hi-techvisionary, Frusztajer is not just a survivor, but athriver, refusing to be sullen or blame his experi-
Frusztajer laced his mid-November talk with unbridled
patriotism, rejecting any popularnotion of America’s decline.
Davidson Lecturer Bill Frusztajer
Teacher Emeritus Philip McFarland, Bill Frusztajer,and Helen Whiting Livingston ’41
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ALUMNAE IPROFILESB Y N A N C Y S H O H E T W E S T ’ 8 4
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• Jonathan Nelson
Class of 1976
• Penelope Weadock Slough
Class of 1946
• Sophronia Camp
Class of 1967
• Betsy Blume
Class of 1982
Jonathan Nelson
Class of 1976
Maximum Minimalism
riginally, the plan was to be an architect. But a stint at a graduateprogram in Milan convinced Jonathan Nelson ’76 that he was
more interested in what went on inside buildings than in the structuresthemselves. Although he still dabbles in architecture, Nelson has built acareer as a designer of high-end modern furniture.
After graduating from Carnegie Mellon, Nelson spent a fewyears as a practicing architect with a firm in downtown Boston. He alsotaught at the Architectural Association of Boston, and then decided toenroll at Domus Academy in Milan.
“I was at Domus when it was still a brand new program,”Nelson says. “It’s an academy that was set up by Domus Magazine, aninternational design publication. This was the mid-1980s and we werein the midst of what was termed the Memphis Movement. It was apretty exciting time. There was a lot of whimsical, wild stuff going on inthe design world.”
When Nelson returned to the States, he devoted the bulk of histime to furniture design, and moved with his wife to Manhattan, wherehe lived and worked for nine years.
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“Now I live in New Hope, Pennsylvania, which is basically theheart of colonial America,” he explained. “So when I say I’m a furnituremaker, people from around here generally picture me in a workshopcarving wood all day. In reality, what I do is not like that at all. I workoccasionally with wood but also with metal, glass, upholstery, andsome synthetic materials such as Kevlar. And I don’t actually craft thepieces myself: I am normally only directly involved in the constructionof the prototype, and then I turn it over to the fabricators.”
In mid-2006, after two decades of having their work sold byother shops and vendors, Nelson and his wife Denise, a fashiondesigner, decided to open their own boutique, Nelson Bridge, inFrenchtown, New Jersey. Nelson says Frenchtown occupies a cosmo-politan niche on the Delaware River near his Pennsylvania home. “Weget a lot of New Yorkers who come to Frenchtown for the weekends,”he said. “We’ve developed a following. And of course our Web site(www.nelsonbridge.com) allows our work to be seen all over theworld.”
Working out of his own storefront gave Nelson the opportunityto hear live reviews of his work from passersby. “Sometimes peoplewalk by our window and point and say, ‘Oh, that’s that modern crap.’And that’s OK, because they’re right: my work is clearly modern,” hesaid. “I make a point of discouraging the word ‘contemporary’ becauseit’s a word that enables people to put a slightly modern tinge on a mix-ture of design elements. I don’t attempt to equivocate between mod-ern and other stylistic themes.”
The Nelsons have developed a loyal clientele for their own workas well as other lines that they sell. “Some people come into the storebecause they recognize designers we carry, such as Alessi, an Italian
Nelson’s designs: the Astrogami chair, the Uovo étagère, and, below, theVortex table
manufacturer of accessories. If people are already drawn to that line,they are likely to appreciate our work as well.”
Nelson’s favorite piece from his own portfolio is one hedesigned when he was first starting out: the Astrogami chair. “It actu-ally looks like a piece of origami in metal,” he said. “It is a minimalpiece, but has a lot of character. And that’s really what I’m striving for.”
Nelson explained that pure modernism scares off a lot of people.“Our company is called Nelson Bridge because we’re a bridge to mod-ern design,” he said. “Modern design does not have to be boring oroppressive or standoffish. What we’re doing is keeping the lines pure,but also making it soft, comfortable, and fun.”
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Penelope Weadock Slough
Class of 1946
Cataloguing the Ancient World
enelope Weadock Slough’s earliest memo-ries of archaeology date back to her child-
hood. “I was always fascinated with the ancientworld,” she recalled. “In the fourth grade, Ilearned about ancient Greece and Rome, and Ithought I would study those civilizations. But as I got older, my interests slid back in time. Fora while I thought my focus would be on Biblicalarchaeology of the Old Testament era, butarchaeology from that time period tends to beall pots, and I found I wasn’t all that interestedin pots.”
After spending her high school years atConcord Academy, Slough attended SmithCollege and then embarked upon a graduatedegree from the Oriental Institute, which is
that. But I’ve always loved doing research. Iloved burrowing away in the stacks of themuseum’s library, trying to find out what a cer-tain coin or ancient object was. Members of thepublic would bring in items they had inheritedfrom a relative. Sometimes it was an antiquityand other times it was a tourist souvenir theirgrandmother had bought on a vacation.” Duringher years at the Detroit Institute of Art, she waspromoted from research associate to associatecurator.
About five years ago, Slough retired fromher position in Detroit, but instead of leavingthe profession, she started volunteering with the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the Uni -versity of Michigan in Ann Arbor. “It’s a longcommute, so I go only one day a week,” shesaid. “They have a very large collection of frag-ments from excavations in the Near East andEgypt. A lot of it has never really been cata-logued. So I am chipping away at that project.It’s a lot of glass shards, some ancient coins, andsome unidentifiable blobs. But after all theseyears, I still love burrowing away with referencematerials to find out what things are.”
Slough also likes knitting, reading histori-cal novels, and traveling. In earlier years, she vis-ited the Near East many times, traveling withuniversity or museum groups to Syria, Iran,Turkey, and Egypt. These days, she says she isnot so inclined to travel to exotic places and is inthe midst of preparing for a slightly less strenu-ous trip, which she described with unmistakabledelight: “I’m taking a Caribbean cruise with myold CA classmate, Cory Benson Johnson!”
affiliated with the University of Chicago. Shesettled on Mesopotamian archaeology as a spe-cialty and went on her first and only archaeolog-ical expedition in 1957. “We were working in thesouth of Iraq at a site called Warka, whichaccording to the Bible was part of the Kingdomof Nimrod,” she said. “The site dated back toearly Sumerian times, about 3200 BC.”
As a doctoral student, Slough did not takepart in the hands-on work, but mostly observed.“It was fascinating to see how the work wasdone,” she said. “We were there at the end ofwinter. When the excavation was finished, itwas spring and the desert bloomed for aboutthree days before the hot season began.”
Slough completed her doctorate from theOriental Institute and then found employmentas an educator, bringing slides and exhibits toschools in the Chicago area. After getting married in 1961, she and her husband movedback to Michigan, where she found her way tothe Detroit Institute of Arts, working first as a volunteer, then, by the early eighties, as a paidemployee.
Almost by default, Slough took charge ofthe ancient coins in the collection. At the time,Slough explained, her department at the DetroitInstitute of Arts was engaged in acquiring piecesof ancient art. “I became the keeper of the coinsbecause no one else was interested in that job,”she said. “We had a collection of 1,400 coins,ranging from the most ancient examples to pen-nies that children tossed into the museum’sfountain. They all ended up in the same vault,and it was my job to catalogue them.”
Her career has never yielded any highdrama, Slough said. “We didn’t find the equiva-lent of Rembrandts in the attic or anything like
Penelope Weadock Slough ’46 in Turkey, 1989
Left: A glass flask excavated at Karanis, Egypt bythe University of Michigan in the 1920s
A miniature flask, third or fourth century AD Gla
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been asked what she learned from her journey. (“Damned if I know,”she confesses to having answered, albeit silently.) “They had theexpectation that somehow I’d come home having experienced greatrevelations, a guru with all kinds of knowledge,” she said wryly. “Butno, I came home with sore feet. What was wonderful though was thecamaraderie. We’d stay in refugios along the way with people from alldifferent countries, eating meals at which three or four languages werebeing spoken at once. That part was delightful.” Arriving back home,Camp immediately set about turning her journal entries into a book, A Pilgrim’s Journal: Walking El Camino de Santiago (available throughwww.partnersvillagestore.com).
The Camino continues to exert a gravitational pull on Camp: shehas returned six times to travel segments of varying distances. Herhusband and children have accompanied her on some of the trips.
“A pilgrimage is much more about the process of walking thanthe destination itself,” Camp said. “You’re walking the face of the earth.That doesn’t mean you’re always experiencing natural beauty orsolitude. We passed through agricultural centers and towns and villagesand cities; we even walked along highways sometimes. Doing a pil grim -age is about being in and of the world, not getting away from it.”
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Sophronia Camp
Class of 1967
40 Days and 40 Nights
eacher Emerita Janet Eisendrath has inspired countless students of her art history classes to visit museums, explore cathedrals,
seek out artifacts, and even select graduate study topics based on whatthey learned in her class.
But Sophronia Camp ’67 did something more. She walked fivehundred miles along the Camino pilgrimage route in Spain because ofEisendrath’s influence.
“While at Concord, I fell in love with the Romanesque churchesof France and learned that they were spaced about fifteen to twentymiles apart, so that a pilgrim following the Camino could walk from oneto the next in a day’s time,” Camp recalled. The fascination with thesechurches stayed tucked away in her subconscious over the next threedecades, years in which Camp studied filmmaking at Boston University,raised five children, became an advocate for special needs in theCambridge public schools, and worked in the field of street ministry forthe homeless in Boston.
By early 2001, her work with the homeless had exhausted her.With a sense of vague unhappiness and depletion, Camp contemplatedher next step. The idea of a spiritual pilgrimage had always intriguedher, and suddenly it seemed like the right time. “My husband’sresponse to everything is to buy a book about it,” Camp laughed. Sowhen she mentioned the idea to him, he came home with a book —The Pilgrimage Route to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handbook, byDavid M. Gitlitz and Linda K. Davidson— and a flyer publicizing a talk bythe authors later that week.
“I went to their talk not thinking that the pilgrimage wassomething I would necessarily do, but I was very interested to hearwhat they had to say,” Camp said. “And then the idea that I wouldactually do it sort of bloomed from there.” Her children ranged in agefrom thirteen to nineteen that spring, and were independent enoughthat they could spare her for six weeks.
Pilgrims can follow several routes along El Camino de Santiago.Camp opted for the most popular one, called the French Route. Her tripwould cover five hundred miles in forty days, beginning— as many ofthe routes do— at the base of the French Pyrénées and ending atSantiago de Compostela.
Before Camp left, friends asked whether she was worried aboutnot knowing where she’d end up each day. “I think this points to theanxieties that lots of folks at my time of life feel,” she said. “We thinkwe’ve lost our ability to be spontaneous. That was actually the mostappealing aspect of the Camino— the not knowing in advance.”
Camp admits to some frustration with the many times she’s
Sophronia Camp ’67 withher daughter, Ada McMahon,
in 2003 at the end of a six hundred-mile walk
Clockwise from left: Sophronia Camp ’67 at Pico de la Dueña, halfway alongher pilgrimage; with sons Julius and Henry McMahon; Camp on the last daywalking the Via de la Plata, outside of Santiago de Compostela
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Betsy Blume
Class of 1982
Fixing Hearts, Saving Lives
uring a cardiology fellowship at Children’s Hospital Boston, Betsy Blume ’82 first met
Erin—a one-year-old with a virus so serious thata machine was keeping her alive while she waitedfor a heart transplant. Blume’s involvement inErin’s critical medical care resulted in a life-changing career decision: Blume would focusher efforts on children with severe heart failure,many of them requiring transplantation.
As the medical director of the HeartFailure/Transplant Program at Children’sHospital Boston, the world’s premier facility ofits kind, Blume sees some of the most gravely ill children anywhere. And yet she refers to thehospital as a happy and inspiring workplace.“You get such a strong sense of hope from thekids in here,” she said. “The patients give us allthe courage to keep going.”
Children’s Hospital implements a longitudi-nal approach to patient care, which means thatphysicians follow the cases of most of theirpatients over a long time period and in greatdetail. “Along with the nurses, social workers,and other hospital staff, doctors and parents arethe patient’s team,” she said. “My most impor-tant job is educating the parents on the details ofa complex medical procedure. Regardless ofwhat their level of education might be, we haveto involve them as part of the team, in order tofigure out the best treatment for their child.Depending on the case, the best action might bea heart transplant, it might be a mechanicalheart, or it might be more of a palliative careapproach.”
Blume’s patients range in age from newbornsto adults in their thirties. The adults are gener-ally patients who have been visiting Children’sHospital Boston since childhood and want to
remember that it might be the most pain she hasever experienced and it’s very serious to her, eventhough compared to what I deal with at work, itseems like just an ordinary ear infection to me.”Blume said that separating her feelings about herpatients from those for her own children hasgotten easier with time, but that it is still heart-breaking to experience a bad outcome, particu-larly when the patient is of similar age to one ofher children.
“Once you have kids, you realize what itwould be like to sit in the hospital with a criti-cally ill child. Becoming a parent changed me asa physician in huge ways,” she said. Blume’s chil-dren occasionally come to the hospital with herso they have a sense of the literally lifesavingwork their mother does—such as her work withBaby Erin.
Blume saw Erin—now fourteen and alacrosse player—a few months ago for a routinecheck-up. While Erin was there, she interviewedBlume for a science report. Despite years ofexperience with gravely ill children who recoverand lead normal lives, Blume admitted that eachencounter with this first transplant patient stillmakes a profound impression. “I am amazed atthe way that she and her family can still inspireme,” she said.
“You get such a strong sense of hope from the kids in here.
The patients give us all the courage to keep going.”
stay with the facility, which makes sense med-ically as well as sentimentally, Blume explained.Cardiologists who ordinarily treat adults tend tobe more knowledgeable in cardiac issues thatarise in adulthood, rather than congenital prob-lems present from birth. Approximately half ofBlume’s patients are being treated for a heartcondition they were born with.
Perhaps the greatest challenge the cardiolo-gist faces is not in the intensive care unit, but inthe need to bridge her workplace and her homelife. Blume and her husband Ben, a pediatrician,are parents to two children, eight-year-old Sarahand six-year-old Andrew. “When my child iscomplaining about an ear infection, I have to
Betsy Blume ’82 with her husband Ben Willwerthand their children Sarah and Andrew
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ONE OF THE MOST animated conversations I’ve ever witnessed atan Alumnae/i Council meeting waslast fall, when we were invited to dateand otherwise clarify traditions andhistoric details from ConcordAcademy's past. This inspired us toresearch facts about CA over the pasteighty-five years, and resulted in thesnapshot, at right, of how the schoolhas evolved.
We hope you will enjoy all thatwe've uncovered; we also hope theConcord Academy Facts and Figureswill inspire you to reminisce and tellus about your years here. The picturethe statistics show is clear: althoughtraditions (and lights out!) maychange, the school’s essence remainsstrong and steadfast.
Marion Odence-Ford ’82 President, Alumnae/i Association
1922 One house on Main Street and
50 students
2007 Eleven houses on Main Street and
360 students
1922 6-acre campus
2006 26-acre campus
2007 38-acre campus
1927 The Chameleon was founded
1928 Tuition for boarders: $1,500
2007 Tuition for boarders: $40,100
1928 20 faculty and staff
1984 99 faculty and staff
2007 200 faculty and staff
1928 Lights out for grades 8-12: 9:30 p.m.
2007 Lights out for grades 9-10: 11:00 p.m.
Lights out for grade 11: 11:30 p.m.
Lights out for grade 12: Midnight
1955 2 endowed scholarships available
1970 8 endowed scholarships available
2007 34 endowed scholarships available
1956 First year of the Annual Fund
1979 Annual Fund raised $145,000
2007 Annual Fund raised $1,954,506; provides
11 percent of CA’s operating budget
1956 First service in the newly constructed
Chapel; a service of carols
1984 Chapel dedicated to Elizabeth B. Hall
(headmistress from 1949– 63)
2004 Renovation and expansion of Chapel
1959 1 international student enrolled
2007 25 international students enrolled
1964 The Centipede was founded
1970 Tripe Night tradition ended after 48 years
1970 143 day students and 98 boarders
2007 203 day students and 157 boarders
1983 Endowment: $1.5 million
2007 Endowment: $48 million
Endowment per student: $129,863
1994 Gnome Week tradition, begun during the
tenure of Elizabeth B. Hall, ended
2007 4,850 living Concord Academy alumnae/i
35 percent of alumnae/i gave to the school
62 percent of alumnae/i gave to the school
in the last 5 years
C A F A C T S A N D F I G U R E S
More Than a Number
Remember When?
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Clockwise from top center:Commencement 1925;
Commencement 2003; archery com-petition, 1952; Kiefer Roberts '07,
Shami Bery '07, and Jared Pimm '07get their mugs; May Day, 1928;
May Queen Mary Leigh Morse Houston ’47
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hen Teacher Emerita Sylvia Mendenhall gave the Convoca tion speech in September, it whetted our appetite for reminiscences. So we started asking
around: what do you remember about May Day, Tripe Night, ring begs, gnoming, and other rituals that have lived (andsometimes died) at CA?
We pored through scrapbooks, with brittle pagesfull of news clippings from the twenties and thirties. We called alum-nae/i from every era.
We learned that CA’s early years were steeped in tradi-tion, from elaborate May Day celebrations to Christmas caroling andcitizenship awards. By the seventies, the school was changing rapidly,as was the country. According to longtime science teacher MadgeEvans, “We used to say if we did something two years in a row, it was
a tradition at Concord Academy.”Despite that, many longstanding CA traditions live on
today. Girls still wear white at Commencement and carry flowers,rings are still worn with the chameleon’s tail turned in untilgraduation, the Chapel remains the heart of the campus, and,perhaps most important, CA’s young men and women remainunafraid to question and challenge.
In these pages you’ll find nostalgic musings—wistful,funny, and joyful—as well as Miss Mendenhall’s speech,which inspired it all.
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Moving Day, 1980
Mary Stewart, RosalieFiske, and Lucy Pierce at
their commencement, 1955
Evolving traditions and a rich history
create timeless CA memories.
— BY GAIL FRIEDMAN —
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In The Beginning
Convocation is a new tradition at Concord Academy, a formal heralding of theschool year that Head of School Jake Dresden began to continue the sense ofcommunity that developed after the 9/11 tragedy. During her Convocation speechon September 4, 2007, Teacher Emerita Sylvia Mendenhall (left) shared storiesabout her start at CA in 1957 and how the school had changed by the time sheretired in 1993. Following is the full address:
My subject today is beginnings.
One of the great things about being a student is thateach September one has the opportunity to make anew start. To be sure, one builds on past experienceand learning; nevertheless, the pens and pencils arenew, the notebooks, the texts—and the expectations. It is the proverbial clean slate.This does not happen in the same way in the so-called real world of business,politics, and labor.
My first knowledge of the existence of Concord Academy occurred at the begin -ning of my freshman year at Smith College. As I arrived at my first lecture inEuropean history, next to me sat another freshman, clad in a dark green blazer. In those days students from fancy prep schools all wore blazers displaying the prep-school crest on the pocket. But this blazer was different, for it sported on its sleeve,just above the cuff, a three-and-a-half-inch embroidered lizard. In the days thatfollowed I learned that Lucia Lee Cabot had just graduated from a school calledConcord Academy, and the lizard was a chameleon. Weird.
As the years continued, I graduated from college, traveled in Europe for a year,held a series of jobs in various publishing and publicity offices to earn enoughmoney to travel again. One day, I looked at myself in the mirror and said, “Sylvia,this has got to stop—enough of writing about chocolate marshmallow pancakesand how to reupholster a chair with granny’s old shawl.” So, in 1955—seven yearsafter I had graduated from Smith—I made a new beginning. As I completed mymaster’s degree at Harvard, I dreamed of saving the public school system.However, teaching jobs in the Boston area were scarce in those years, so when thevocational office at Smith let me know about the opening in the English Depart -ment at Concord Academy, I decided it would be a good idea to see what a teacherinterview might be like. Thus one day in February, dressed in my proper charcoalgray suit and silk blouse, I left my practice teaching job at Newton High School—adark, brick, prison-like building where they locked the students’ coats in cagesduring the day so they wouldn’t leave school. I arrived at CA, amazed atthe carved antique applewood chairs in the Hobson House living room,the tall grandfather’s clock in working order, and the painting over themantel. Then I met Mrs. Hall, and we hit it off immediately. I realizedthat CA was more than a snobby private school and decided to try it fora year, maybe two, because it would look better on my record.
As I arrived at the beginning of school in the fall of 1956, fifty-one years ago, there,at the end of the lawn, stood the rough shell of the Chapel. The windows anddoors were irregular dark gaping holes soon to be protected by flapping pieces ofplastic to keep out the autumn rains. Piled over to the right was a heap of
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M E M O R I E S : Glee Club
“EVERYBODY WAS REQUIRED to be in the Glee Club. NancyLoring made us sing the Bach “B-minor Mass” and Brahms “Requiem”and Beethoven. I thought, ‘I can’t possibly sing Bach’s B-minor Mass,’ but somehow we did it. It was thrilling! . . . We’d have concerts. We’d get on a bus, all dressed up, and go to the boys’ schools, and they would come to Concord. After the concerts, we’d have dances. To make sureeverybody danced, we’d have dance cards . . . it was a way to mix the young men and women together to get to know each other.”
—Sandra Willett Jackson ’61
Nancy Loring leads the 1959 Glee Club. Top right:
The tradition continues in the 1980s.
Misbehaving
nce the sole respon-sibility—and some-
times at the whim—of theheadmistress, disciplinebecame a more struc turedprocess over the years.Stories of wood-sawing are legend from Mrs. Hall’s era; it seemed her preferredform of punishment, generally after a good talking-to in the green chair in her office. When Russell Mead washeadmaster during the early seventies, he handed somedisciplinary responsibilities to the head of boarding. That led to the beginning of the Discipline Com mittee aswe know it today. CA students who violate rules todayare “DCed”—considered by a Discipline Committeecomprising faculty, students, and an administrator.(Students do not participate in hearings involving viola-tions of academic integrity.)
Such a committee probably would have been super-fluous during the earliest days of Concord Academy,when societal norms were strict and girls were trained toknow their place. “I don’t think there was much disci-pline,” said Betsy Doughty Debevoise ’30. “I don’t thinkthere had to be—we all behaved ourselves.”
The Woodpile
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The Debut
A’s early scrapbooks are filled with newspaper stories about various
cotillions and the CA girls who madetheir formal socialdebuts, a prac-
tice then called“coming out.” Left, news of
debutante Elizabeth EndersCostikyan ’47 and right, anannouncement about OlgaCraven Huchingson ’55.
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Many thanks to those who helped us reminisce and research the history ofConcord Academy: Mary “Molly” Shaw Beard ’50, Lauren Bruck ’85, SophieCarlhian ’79, Alice Hutchins Clark ’34, Judy Carpenter Clark ’61, BetsyDoughty Debevoise ’30, Ingrid von Dattan Detweiler ’61, Madge Evans,Deborah Gray, Ellen Smith Harde ’62, Gale Hurd ’61, Sandra Willett Jackson’61, Janet Lovejoy ’50, Angelique Marsden Yen ’86, Philip McFarland, SylviaMendenhall, Anne Chamberlin Newbury ’29, John O’Connor, MarionOdence-Ford ’82, Lisa Jenney Paige ’53, Laura Richardson Payson ’47, HelenReynolds Smith ’36, Merrie Crafts Thorpe ’61, and members of ConcordAcademy’s Alumnae/i Council.
M E M O R I E S : Dances
“WE WOULD HAVE sociables with Middle -sex—three a year, in the fall, winter, andspring—at the country club, except in thewinter it was at Town Hall. Boys woretuxedos; we all had to wear evening dresses.”Well before the dance, the girls would paradein front of teachers to be approved; dressestoo low in the front or back wouldn’t makethe cut. —Betsy Doughty Debevoise ’30
Above: A sociable, circa 1940s. Below: A CA formal, 2000.
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(continued from page 18)
clapboards waiting to be painted by the four upper classes.
I have to confess, as a newcomer to the school the building of the Chapel made menervous. Had I, a closet agnostic, gotten myself into a job full of holy prayers anda Sunday school approach to life? Fortunately not, but those first few days, evenweeks, I was not sure.
Since my beginning days at CA, the school has changed enormously. Here is aquick list of examples:
• In 1956, CA was all girls—seventh- to twelfth-grade, about 220 students, forty ofthem boarders who squeezed nicely into Mrs. Hall’s living room for Sundaynight readings from Wind in the Willows.
• There were no photocopiers, no computers—just a hand-cranked ditto machine with purple ink.
• Almost all the parents and faculty voted Republican. (I was one of three closet Democrats.)
• At age sixteen, all students at CA qualified for smokingpermission—smoking allowed in the so-called Purple
Oyster or “Purp” in the basement of Mrs. Hall’s house on MainStreet. Actually, after the woodcarving in the Chapel and thesteeple, the next Molly Gregory project was the Smoking Pavilionor “Pav,” which lasted until at least the late eighties. The Chapel andthe “Pav”—both sacred spots.
• In 1956, all seniors took biology with Miss Morse and the climax of the coursewas the dissection of a cat, including a life-sized drawing of its innards.
• Everyone was required to sing in Nancy Loring’s Concord Academy Chorus,whether you liked to sing or not. This took place in the Assembly Hall, thepresent library. Nancy Loring was an extraordinary person, a sizable lady. Myfavorite Nancy Loring story tells of the time she was leading up to a crescendo,and as her arms raised, the elastic on her underpants broke, but agilely shestepped aside as they dropped to her ankles, never missing a beat.
• Was there diversity? Of temperament and character, yes. But the year I arrived,there was only a handful of Jews and Catholics—no Asians, no Hispanics, noAfrican Americans.
Nevertheless, life at CA under Mrs. Hall was never boring. She reduced the pagesof written rules to only five unbreakable ones. Each day began with the Lord’sPrayer, then a hymn sung as we faced the pyramid of the ten deadly virtues she hadcarved (the virtues you can still see in the library today). With Mrs. Hall, anythingcould happen. If you did something bad as a student, you ended up sitting in thegreen chair—the chair in her office across from the desk. Whether you felt ashamedor rebellious, her punishments were often creative: sawing fireplacelogs for lateness and minor crimes; a house party in June for thosewho had committed a major offense, including good talk, good fun, andeven a trip to the beach to escape the heat. In those days there was no DC.All discipline came from the head of school.
David Aloian, as new head of Concord Academy in 1963, brought a new begin -ning. He was the first male head, and his passion was academic excellence. Notonly did he continue the growth of the music and art departments, he introduced
1960s Hangouts
Sally Ann Food Shop
Snow’s Pharmacy
Woolworth’s soda fountain
CLOSER LOOK:
In the early forties, sev
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CA boarders were Britis
h,
sent overseas by t
heir parents to
avoid the war.
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M E M O R I E S : Tripe Night
UNTIL 1970, new boarders were told ofthe sacrifice they were expected to make thenight before Thanksgiving. Instead of turkey,the school would serve tripe—basically acow’s stomach lining—and donate the savings to charity. Dreading the meal, butunderstanding the noble and necessary gesture, the girls were so surprised when theturkey actually appeared on the table thatsome wouldn’t believe it was turkey andrefused to eat it. By 1970, some were criti-cizing the tradition as mean-spirited and aviolation of common trust. A midnightchapel service that year replaced the prank-ish tradition. Above, dinner in 1942.
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Then and now: 1950s and 2000s
The Pav, 1968
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(continued from page 20)
subjects such as calculus and physics to the curriculum. No more kitty diagrams. A whole new group of boarders from Washington, DC and New York arrived atthe school as a result. During his time, the science building and theP.A.C. were built. He appointed a group of department heads to meetto consider the future, and out of this came CA’s first computer, linkedto the one at MIT; the start of a film making course; and a program toattract African American students to CA. He was the ultimate in pursuingthe highest standards, and one of my favorite David Aloian stories concernsthe night his house—now Lee House—caught fire. There, at 4:00 in the morning,were his wife and children standing in the street along with theboarders from Wheeler House, all shivering in their pajamas.Then out came David Aloian clad in his impeccable headmaster’ssuit, clean shirt, and silk tie, ready to assume his role for the day.
With Russell Mead as his succeeding head, there was yet another new beginningafter the faculty and administration voted to make CA go coeducational. Duringthe past three to four years various boys’ schools had been trying to woo CA—Groton, St. Paul’s, Middlesex. I’m afraid their propositions were motivated bygreed to double the admissions pool, not equal opportunities for women. How -ever, CA did not wish to be swallowed up by a boys’ school as Abbot had beenswallowed by Andover, or Rosemary Hall by Choate. We were too independent forthat. Instead, we chose to go it alone.
The seventies was a unique period in schools such as CA. Along with a new interestin coeducation, all the basic school structure seemed open to question. Nationally itwas a time of protest, student sit-ins, freedom marches, and such. At CA, studentswere challenging everything: Why are classes required? Why do we have to studygrammar? All of a sudden the curriculum was dominated by electives. The schoolwas full of creative energy, but all of it divided, lacking coherent direction.
I don’t remember the exact year, but Headmaster Rus Mead, during announce -ments in the P.A.C., (1) committed a nearly fatal error, and (2) introduced a phraseto describe an essential principle in support of the community of CA. First, themistake—there had been a rash of minor offenses afoot: filching from cubbies,behavior bordering on hazing in the dormitories. Expressing his displeasure, RusMead announced that he would rather have amusing pranks afoot in the schoolthan that sort of behavior. And so the pranks began: the next morning all theclassroom chairs had been neatly arranged on the lawn at 8:00 a.m. Then one
evening a house director’s bathtub was discovered filled to the brimwith light blue Jell-O, and some months later a cinderblock wallblocked the North School from the Middle School. Fortunately thecement had not fully hardened. But Mr. Mead and the maintenance
crew were not amused. Nevertheless, the same behavior criticized by theheadmaster also inspired the phrase that came to be known as “The CommonTrust,” first articulated by Rus Mead who declared that adhering to “The CommonTrust” had become the sixth unbreakable rule of Concord Academy, and it was thenand is now an important, enduring legacy.
Starting with Phil McKean and then especially with the arrival of Tom Wilcox,came a new beginning, and a new order evolving out of the chaos of the mid-seventies. The curriculum was redesigned, including electives but also prerequi sites.The Dining Hall and Stu-Fac evolved out of what was the old gym, and the newgym opened in 1978. Tom Wilcox’s vision of a traditional quad was fulfilled with
MMoving Day
any boarders thought of Moving Day as a CA tradition; they would change rooms
twice a year, to vary both roommates and thelucky recipients of the most desirable rooms. In later years, boarders moved just once a year,and today don’t move at all. Below: Moving Day, 1980.
1970s Hangouts
Friendly’s (for Monday
morning breakfast club)
Brigham’s
Eden
The Lantern
CLOSER LOOK:
Half the boarders received
financial aid during
the Depression.
Lee Wilson ’76
(continued on page 24)
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M E M O R I E S : Picnics
“ON SATURDAYS boarders had picnics. Variouspeople in the town turned over their farms to us forour picnics. We had a picnic club; I was head of thatat some point.” —Betsy Doughty Debevoise ’30
An I-gnome-inious Fall
he practice known as gnoming began in the sixties at Concord Academy as an opportu-
nity to offer a kind gesture to another student.“You would go take your shower and come backand find someone had made your bed,” said retired science teacher Madge Evans. “You did something nicefor somebody. You neatened up somebody’s cubby or you put a chocolate on the shelf.” Gnomees wouldtry to guess who their gnome was, until a final reunionwhen all gnomes were revealed.
Marian Ferguson ’63 used to leave a cookie or aflower for a favored teacher, and she wonders whetherthat spawned the gnoming tradition, which began atCA the year after she graduated.
Over the years, gnoming became more elaborate—and costly. “The people being gnomed would getnotes asking what they wanted. Gnoming became areal financial burden,” Evans said. In the seventies, it
also got out of hand. Gnomees might have a tequilasunrise in their cubby; pornography was not unheardof. Finally, after much discussion about whether gnom-ing could be saved, the practice was eliminated.
Still, gnoming remains a fond memory for manyalumnae/i, even to gnomees from the seventies andeighties. “I still have a pot that Jonas Geduldig [’81]made for me,” said Marion Odence-Ford ’82. “It sayson the bottom, ‘From your gnome.’”
Far left, top and bottom:Saturday Picnic Club, 1927.Left: Jocelyn FlemingGutchess ’38, Persis MetcalfPlaisted ’40, Katharine TryonBradley ’38, and HarrietteAbbett Keator ’40 at a picnicin the late 1930s. Below:Picnic and swimming atHutchins Farm, 1931.
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(continued from page 22)
the building of the MAC. At this time arrived the expansion of thelibrary, computers, photocopiers, and more important, a commit -ment to diversity. Under Tom Wilcox, the school finally becamefully coed. The boarding/day student ratio also became stabilized at approxi matelyfifty-fifty. A new order had been ushered in, giving Jake Dresden a solid base onwhich to build.
Yes, there have been many new beginnings at CA, but something about the spirit ofthis place has remained the same through all these years. And this is what draws meback to the school:
• I revel in the spirit of fun and spontaneity that makes this a special place.
• I treasure the sense of excitement about learning.
• I respect the honoring of the individual and how the debate between the good ofthe individual and the good of the community energizes the school.
Now as the year begins, what lies in your future? The possibilities arelegion. Among our graduates we find a queen, at least one princess, and
now the new president of Harvard. There is an unusually high number ofsuccessful published writers—not necessarily those who got As in English,
but those who had something to say. And there are doctors, lawyers,artists, business people, and those who have served on school boards and
town committees to improve the quality of life surrounding them.
So what would I want to know if I were starting the year at CA for the first time?Number one: Expect the unexpected. You have no idea your first year how manyunexpected moments exist in the dailiness of CA. And who knows when Thursdaywill be Monday until 3:00 p.m.? Number two: Take the courage to ask questions.Questions, rather than correct answers, are often the best route to knowledge.Number three: Remember that the only difference between a crisis and anadventure is the way you look at it. As I was reading Al Gore’s book, The Assault on Reason, I learned that the written Chinese word for crisis is madeup of two characters: danger, then opportunity. I like that—out ofdanger comes opportunity.
Finally to begin the new year, I should like to read a short poem written in Sanskritby a fifth-century Indian poet named Kalidasa. It goes as follows:
Look to this day!For it is life, the very life of lifeIn its brief course lie all the verities and realities of your existence:
The bliss of growth,The glory of action,The splendor of beauty;
For yesterday is but a dream,And tomorrow is only a vision;But today, well lived, makes everyYesterday a dream of happinessAnd every tomorrow a vision of hopeLook well, therefore, to this day.
Happy beginning of school!
Living History
nne Chamberlin Newbury ’29—believed
to be Con cord Academy’s oldest alumna—started at CAin 1922 when she was eleven;her mother helped start the school.
During a visit with her in New Hampshire thispast September, Newbury (above) remembered avibrant musical life at CA, and her leading roles inGilbert & Sullivan operettas, including TheGondoliers and Patience. She also reminiscedabout athletics, when the school would split intotwo teams, the Nashawtucs and the Punkatassets,for internal competitions. Headmistress ElsieHobson, she said, didn’t like the team names andchanged them to the Reds and the Blues. Newburyalso recalled playful Hare and Hound chases.Students designated as Hares would be given ahead start, sent off to hide anywhere in town.“They could go way up to Fairhaven Hill, all overthe town,” Newbury said. “And then the Houndswould go out and try to find them.”
Classrooms during CA’s early days werelocated in a renovated barn. “Whenever it rainedwe always knew it was a barn because it smelledlike a barn,” Newbury said. During her CA days,May Day was a major school event. “It was won-derful. It was out in the garden below the steps.And everybody was in it,” she said. “We’d do allthese folk dances. We rehearsed for monthsbefore. It was a big thing.” Another big event wasa dance with Middlesex School. Newburydescribed how boarders would have to paradebefore Miss Hobson the week before the dance tohave their dresses approved.
When the Class of 1929 graduated fromConcord Academy, women weren’t expected toattend college. Many spent a year preparing tomake a formal social debut, known as coming out(see page 19). “This was the period where it wasjust beginning to be the right thing for women todo, to go to college, which is what my mother wasso pushing for: to make the school an academicschool,” she said. “I guess about half of my classwent on to college.”
Living in Concord for eighty years (“I think that’s a record”), Newbury saw the town transformfrom small farming community to Boston bed-room community. “It was after the First World Warthat it started to be suburbia and people realizedthey could commute to Boston by train,” she said.Newbury’s family goes so far back that her father,a physician, worked with the medical practice ofDr. Edward Emerson, Ralph Waldo’s son.
Newbury, 96, now lives at an assisted-living facility in Hanover, New Hampshire; at least twoother CA alumnae also live there. Her daughter,Nancy Newbury-Andresen ’57 and granddaughterElizabeth Newbury ’98 attended CA, as did her sis-ter-in-law, Frances Newbury Roddy ’33.
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Field Days
n the early decades of Concord Academy, every student participated in sports. Two teams, the
Punkatas sets and the Nashaw tucs, competed againsteach other. Later the team names became simply theReds and the Blues. An article from the 1930s refers tocompetitions in archery, baseball throw, the fifty-yarddash, broad jump, hurdles, and high jump. It’s not clearwhen competitive silent marching joined the athleticlineup, but Sandra Willett Jackson ’61 remembers lead-ing the synchronized routine, which was judged by afaculty committee, when she was captain of the Blues.
CA teams were participating in interscholasticsports by the late fifties. CA joined the Eastern Leaguein the mid-seventies and the Eastern IndependentLeague (EIL) in the mid-eighties, and in 2007– 08 thirty-four teams participate in twenty-two sports. Today, students are no longer required to play on a team, asthey were in the early days, but about 80 percent do.
Clockwise from top left: CA baseball, 1924: Mrs. Howell at bat and Janet Smith ’26 catching;javelin throw at Field Day, 1928; archers (from left) Addie Eicks Comegys ’48, Peggy WhitneyMoreau ’48, and Nancy Bird Nichols ’48; the fifty-yard dash, 1942
Left: Field hockey players Jane Vance McCauley ’58,Caroline Murfitt-Eller ’58, Nancy Moses Dechert ’58,and Elizabeth Moses Baker ’58. Below: Marching, 1962
Blue team memberDorothy Arnold ’63 withRed opponent Mary AllenRowland Swedlund ’63.Right and below: TheReds and Blues in 1966.
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PATCHES AND PINS
During the early 1950s, thechameleon was awarded inrecognition of good citizen-ship and athletic ability. LisaJenney Paige ’53 recalls stu-dents gathering in the gym-nasium—now the Student-Faculty Center—with greatanticipation at the end of theyear. “The first year you wereeligible for an award was ineighth grade,” Paige said. “Ibelieve that’s the year Ireceived a chameleon patch,which I sewed on the sleeveof my green blazer.” Studentsduring those years woregreen blazers with white pip-ing on the lapels and pockets,which could have been con-sidered an unofficial schooluniform.
“In ninth grade a ‘CA’ madeout of green and white feltletters was awarded andsewn onto the pocket of theblazer,“ Paige recalled.“Then, in sophomore andjunior year, you could receivea CA pin; I think one was sil-ver and one gold. Senior yearonly one person received thecitizenship award, which wasa white blazer with a gold CA on the pocket.”
M E M O R I E S : WWII
“WE USED TO GO UP to Miss [Mercelia]Wagner’s house to have tea and knit afghansquares for war relief.” — Mary Leigh Morse Houston ’47
1942 Civil Defense
Mug Shots
or about the past thirty years, seniors have badgered
the Alumnae/i Association to hand over their mugs.
Stu dents have created skits, films, and works of art to
demand the CA mugs. Once they get them, the seniors
decorate the mugs and earn the privilege to fill them with drinks in the dining hall at any
time of day. Above: Kristian Shaw ’07, Soo Park ’07, and Mary Shen ’07 decorate their mugs.
Right: Capitalizing on a high-profile marketing campaign that terrorized Boston by
putting blinking devices all over the city, the Class of 2007 mugged CA with similar devices.
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CLOSER LOOK:
The school’s first inter national
student, from Hanover,
Germany, enrolled in 1959
.
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Leapin’ Lizards
by Ingrid von Dattan Detweiler ’61
oncord Academy has evolved from a small, local, all-girls’ school into an internationally known coed-
ucational school. The curriculum has changed to reflectthe times. The school’s logo has changed—from a sketchof Haines House to a Chapel window. Over the years, thecampus, the dining hall, and the Chapel have changed.
But the chameleon—CA’s symbol of adaptability—has not.
It’s unclear how or why the chameleon was chosen, or exactly when that happened, but “the critter” has beenassociated with the school for more than eighty years.When Philip McFarland was researching A History ofConcord Academy and The Wilcox Years, alumnae told himthat the chameleon dates from the era of Elsie GarlandHobson, who was headmistress from 1922 to 1937, and that it was used as a symbol before becoming the title of the school’s literary magazine, first published inDecember 1927.
Those not familiar with Concord Academy mightrefer to the image as a lizard, as Teacher Emerita SylviaMendenhall first did when she saw one embroidered justabove the cuff on a fellow Smith College freshman’sblazer. Later Mendenhall would join the faculty atConcord Academy and, after teaching for fifteen years,receive her own lizard: a circular gold pin, about an inchin diameter, with a C and an A and a curly-tailedchameleon with green eyes.
Over the years, the chameleon has been used in a vari-ety of ways—most notably on the school ring, but also on the cover of the literary magazine, in recognition ofcontributions to Annual Giving, on stationery, pillows,bags, pens, mugs, and clothing. More recently, thechameleon has become the school’s mascot and is used on athletic uniforms and equipment.
True to its nature, the chameleon has adjusted withthe times. It remains an important part of CA—an endur-ing legacy and a symbol of how adaptable the school’sgraduates can be while still maintaining their individuality.
CRAFTY CRITTERS
Merrie Crafts Thorpe ’61, whowas a volunteer at CA in thelate 1960s, recalls searchingfor a chameleon image that
could be used to make aneedlepoint sampler. She
found the image she wantedin a book, blew it up, and
added the CA at the end ofthe curled tail. She then used
the chameleon on a needle-point pillow and gave it to
Mary Leigh Houston ’47, whoin 1972 was completing her
term as president of theAlumnae Association. A simi-
lar pillow adorns the sofa inthe Aloian living room today.In the seventies, needlepointkits to make the pillows were
assembled and sold by theAlumnae/i Office.
BIRTH OF THE RING
In the 1930s and ’40s, eachclass designed its ring.Helen Reynolds Smith ’36recalls that her class created a chameleonintaglio in green onyxset in gold. It’s unclearwhether rings featured thechameleon through the thirtiesand early forties. But AnnaBorden Sides ’44 says thechameleon ring still used todaywas created by her class—aplain gold ring with a chameleonimage etched in a recess of therectangular top. Sides said otherclasses admired the design anddecided to make it official andpermanent. In later years, ringswere made out of a variety of
metals, but the image of thechameleon etched in
the ring has notchanged.
TURNING TAILS
Since at least the sixties, thechameleon ring has been worntail-in until graduation, when it isturned to face the world.
What else do you remember about the chameleon?
How was it used when you were at CA?
Write [email protected].
C
✆Want to order a
CA ring? Call Josten’s
at (508) 248-9095.
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May Day 1938, the firstyear that plain pastel
colors were not requiredfor the festivities
Fall 1955 at Mills College:Betsy Piper Harder '49,
Betsy Moizeau Shima '55,unidentified, and
Sarah Burley Birkett '55
1929Miss Pride and Mrs. Morse
1927
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
Dressing Up, Dressing Down
The Chapel Talk Evolution
ow did chapel talks evolve from meetings of prayer and announcements to forums
for free expression? Teacher Emerita SylviaMendenhall remembers when chapels met in theassembly hall, before the Chapel building waserected. Meetings would begin with the Lord’s
Prayer and include a hymn or two. When theChapel building was complete, Mrs. Hall beganassigning seniors to lead chapel services,Mendenhall said.
Those services remained religious—girlswould lead the Lord’s Prayer, hymns, sometimesgive a reading, and occasionally interpret it.
Things began to change when English teach-ers brought literature unrelated to the Bible intochapel time. “Very safe stuff like Robert Frost,”Mendenhall recalled. By the sixties, studentswere reading non-Biblical texts and substitutingvarious songs for hymns.
One day, probably in the late sixties,Mendenhall remembers a student handing outthe words to “Puff the Magic Dragon.” The fac-ulty, who then sat in the balcony, sang dutifullyalong. “I did notice the seniors kept looking upat us,” Mendenhall said. “The faculty had no ideathis had anything to do with drugs, and ofcourse the kids did.”
Around that time, students began not onlyto read material during chapel time, but to speakin their own voices. They sometimes pushed theenvelope. Mendenhall remembers one seniorreading a profanity-laced excerpt from Catcher inthe Rye and a teacher walking out. On anotherday, a senior lined the Chapel beams with beerbottles.
Chapels today remain forums for free expres-sion, but have largely lost their rebellious edgesince the tumultuous late sixties and early seven-ties. Students today might philosophize, or sharememories and insights. Some talks are painfuland revealing, others upbeat and thankful.Occasionally students use untoward language,though they are warned not to. Some use thetime to perform. Regardless of what studentschoose to do, chapel talks remain the essence ofCA, an important and inspiring start to theday—just as they were decades ago.
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Signs of congratulations now routinely decoratethe Chapel during seniors’ chapel talks.
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M E M O R I E S : Film
RALPH GOES TOSCHOOL, a short filmcowritten by and starringDavid Kissinger ’79 (right),was screened at the beginningof school for several years inthe late seventies. Filmed ingrainy black and white andaccompanied by ragtimemusic, the Woody Allenesquesilent film follows Ralph, abumbling schlemiel who can’tget a grip on his life as a newConcord Academy student. It was filmed under the guid-ance of media teacher JeanMorrow. See the film atwww.concordacademy.org/ralph.
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1970 Proletarian pantsuit
1975
1988
1970
1980
1990
2000
Recited during an assembly in 1969:
Skirts or Pants
Some say the school will end in skirtsAnd some say pants.From what I’ve seen of jeans and shirtsStained and spotted by sundry dirtI’d hold those who favor skirts.Yet in the months of winter’s freezeWhen snow slants through one’s frozen knees, My heart does melt, and then, perchance, I’d side with those who favor pants.Shall CA legs be skirted or panted?Shall scant skirts now be supplanted?Proposal vetoed or granted?Let me now say that in the ice(Mark my words, they are concise.)Pants are niceAnd will suffice
(If you know who penned this poem, write [email protected].)
1980s Hangouts
Balcony off batik room
Brigham’s
Cemetery
Boat house
Eden
Elysian Fields
Friendly’s
Harvard Square
Mill Dam Store
The Pav
Pottery shed
Train depot
Walden's Sub Shop (John O'Connor staged a raid there to catch students cutting assembly.)
CLOSER LOOK:
Half of all living
Concord Academy alumnae/i
graduated after 1982.
1982
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Ring Sing
by Ingrid von Dattan Detweiler '61
he tradition of seniors giving the chameleon rings to juniors goes back
at least several decades. In early May,members of the junior class would start“begging” for their rings. Ellen SmithHarde ’62 remembers a sunny day in May1962 when a group of seniors who lived inLincoln decided to walk to school singing:
It’s May, it’s May, the very first day of MayThe seniors come to sing this song and
give the rings away.We’ve come, we’ve come, to end your
ceaseless call.Count your blessings everyoneThat we have come at all.
Ring Story
n 1999, CA received a letter from Darcy Brown-Marin ’84. Her cousin had found a
chameleon ring on the streets of Berkeley,California. Brown-Martin, recognizing thering, sent it to CA and asked the school to hunt down the person whose initialswere inscribed inside. Success: Elissa LinMeyers ’86 got her ring back.
Do you have a CA ring story? [email protected].
Top This: The Class of 2002 Ring Huntby Maria Harris ’02
It’s not clear exactly when juniors started beggingthe seniors for their rings. But the tradition hastaken some elaborate turns over the years. Rings havebeen swathed in a barrel of Jell-O, and tied to silkflowers and “planted” behind the tennis courts. Theyhave even been dropped from a helicopter, courtesy ofpilot Tully Foote ’02. In the following article, adaptedfrom a piece written for the Centipede in 2001,Maria Harris ’02 recalls her elaborate ring hunt.
n a mid-May Wednesday morning in 2001, during a week already tainted by AP exams, the junior class arrived to find the furni-
ture from our pit replaced by two rowboatsfilled with murky river water. The seniorshad boarded up the pit, and through thewindows we could see our beloved ceramicdog and fisherman holding signs displaying asimple phrase: “Beg.” The Class of 2001 was begging us to beg for rings.
The next morning the begging began. Werang bells, threw Ring Pops, and held poetryslams. Our begging efforts were rewarded on the
second-to-last day of classes, when we wereinformed that we should meet the seniors afterschool on the quad. Upon arrival, we were pre-sented with a sheet of paper containing a fifteen-digit number and no explanation. We puzzledover it for a while, before a few sympathetic sen-iors took pity on us. “Forget it,” they said, “justhead toward the river.” (We later learned that thenumber was the product of two eight-digitprimes, and we were meant to discern those andthen feed them into a GPS unit to give us theprecise location of a point on campus. The Class
of 2001 may have overestimated us . . .) Near the river we found a tree with a
white ribbon tied to a high branch. AlexNichols fearlessly scrambled up the tree andcut down a plastic bag attached to the rib-
bon. Inside, we discovered a wooden puzzlepiece and a clue that eventually led us to thegym, where a ball of shoelaces was hanging fromthe ceiling. We used a table, a trash can, a knife,and Sam Donovan to reach it. With the ballunraveled, we found another puzzle piece and aclue, directing us to the senior pit.
At the pit we were met with a pile of boxeswrapped in purple paper, and we proceeded totear them open. Inside one of the largest boxeswe found a smaller box, and inside that one, astill smaller box. Two more nesting boxes later,we discovered our fourth clue and another pieceof the puzzle. The hunt continued from there,involving a trip to CVS to buy M&Ms and aclue baked into a cake. We were unfazed by aclue encased in cement, which was dealt with byenthusiastic sledgehammering by Brian Kandaand Matt Bassett. We took Polaroids of five seniors and ransacked David Rost’s office, andupon completion of the puzzle, were led to theSHAC pool.
Floating in the pool was a large block of ice,which Kian Wilcox valiantly retrieved andsmashed open. Plastic bags containing ringboxes spilled out. Hours after we had started thehunt, we finally had our senior rings.
How would the Class of 2002 be able to topan indecipherable fifteen-digit number and ablock of ice in the pool? Our very own helicop-ter pilot had a few ideas. . . but you’ll have to askthe Class of 2003 about that one.
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oncord Academy’s Main Street campus fits snugly on twenty-six acres of beautiful real estate. The village setting and Sudbury River backdrop have helped shape CA’s
character over the years, but they have also putnatural limits on the space available for academ-ics, arts, athletics, and housing. To complicatematters, more than a quarter of the campus—about seven acres—lies in the river’s floodplain.Every spring, and lately in the fall as well, a por-tion of those seven acres disappears under water,including two of CA’s three athletic fields.
About seven years ago, the trustees’ FacilitiesPlanning Committee urged the board to con-sider all new real estate opportunities that couldhelp CA address its space constraints. Since then,two houses across Main Street have been pur-chased, providing nine new faculty apartments,six new offices, and two new meeting spaces.Then, early last summer, twelve acres of dry, flatfarmland, located a mile from campus, came onthe market. Recognizing a rare opportunity tomeet many of the school’s longstanding needs,board members acted quickly to gather informa-tion and reach consensus, and by summer’s end,CA had acquired the commercial propertyknown as Arena Farms.
“This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunityfor CA, and the board acted as well as any boardI’ve ever seen,” said Head of School JakeDresden. “They were very aware of our needsand how much this additional space would meanto CA’s life. There was plenty of informed dia-logue, but everyone understood that quickaction was necessary to make this happen.”The property, which is located on the corner ofRoute 2 and Fairhaven Road in Concord, hadgone into foreclosure and was slated for publicauction in July, but Concord Academy’s interestkept it off the auction block. After the Town of Concord declined to exercise its right of firstrefusal (allowed on an agriculturally zoned property), trustees worked with Director of
Operations Don Kingman and Chief FinancialOfficer Judi Seldin to complete a site study andnegotiate the August 20 closing.
The $3.6 million purchase happened becauseof a combination of a gift and loan from Carol and John Moriarty and their family. TheMoriartys are the parents of three ConcordAcademy graduates. Carol has been an activevolunteer for the school, and as president of CAParents served on the Board of Trustees; John isa longstanding member of the Board of Trustees.CA is continuing to raise funds for the remain-der of the acquisition cost, as well as for theeventual development of the property.
“We’re very grateful to the Moriartys for taking the lead on this,” said Dresden. “Theirsupport was pivotal in allowing us to move
ahead, and it’s already generating a lot of excite-ment and inspiring others to join in.”
In the fall, CA’s trustees and administratorsbegan the process of deciding how best to usethe newly acquired land. A working group,cochaired by Kingman and trustee and CA par-ent Tony Brooke, will develop a master plan thatconsiders not only the new land, but the MainStreet campus as well. They will hire a consultantto help them gather information and coordinatethe work. “To do this right we have to thinkabout the future of CA and reimagine the wayswe use the entire campus,” said Kingman.“Implementing the whole plan will definitely bea gradual, multistage process.”
Jeff Eberle, parent of three CA graduates anda trustee member of the working group, said the
A New Arena for Concord AcademyLand Purchase Will Solve Many of CA’s Space Problems
by Lucille Stott
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Rains flooded CA fields over the years, hindering athletic schedules. Above, the river overflows its banksonto the middle athletic field.
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8CA Connections After purchasing theArena Farms land, the school discovered ithad once been part of a very large, agri -cultural property owned by the ancestors of Emily Wheeler ’70. The Wheelers farmedthe property beginning in the mid-seventeenth century and sold part of it tothe Arenas during the first half of thetwentieth.
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committee will do its job “in typical CA fashion.This will be a transparent, all-inclusive process,and there will be lots of opportunity for inputbefore any action is taken,” Eberle said. Brooke added that he has been struck by thestrong sense of excitement from alumnae/i onthe board. “These graduates have been support-ing the school generously for a long time,” hesaid. “They’ve been hoping for some improve-ments in space use, especially in the area of athletics, and now we have a way to make that happen.”
New athletic fields are the only definite useidentified for the property thus far. The land isclearly suited to provide the reliably dry fieldsCA has never been able to count on. Director ofAthletics Carol Anne Beach, who arrived at CAin 2001, said the problem with unusable fieldshas gotten even worse in recent years. “When Ifirst got here, the problem with wet fieldsoccurred only in the spring, but for a variety ofreasons, we’ve been unable to use at least onefield in the fall as well, and we’ve had to canceltoo many games and practices.”
In addition, participation in all team sportshas increased, forcing the school to find practiceand playing spaces in the town of Concord.Currently, the baseball team practices on a WestConcord field and plays its home games atEmerson Field, which is available only when the Concord-Carlisle Regional High Schoolteam is not using it. CA’s Ultimate Frisbee teampractices and plays on a town field about a milefrom campus.
Beach said CA has had to disappoint seniorathletes during the past four years because of theneed to relocate their last scheduled home soccergames to off-campus fields. “When you’ve been
on a team and felt the pain of cancellation aftercancellation, you can’t help but be excited by theprospect of new fields that will stay playable,”she said. “It’s been a great morale lifter.” Beachsaid that in drier years, when the home fieldshave been more available for practices andgames, teams have had stronger seasons. “Itmakes a big difference to these young athletes topractice and play consistently on the same field.”
The working group, with the consultant’sinput, will decide the type and number of fieldsto be developed and where they will be placedon the property. Those and other decisionsabout the many potential uses remain open fordiscussion.
Brooke stressed that there is no intention ofincreasing the size of the school because of thispurchase. “We’re going to develop an integratedcampus plan to better support the work our students and faculty are doing now,” he said.
There is a large, partially completed barn onthe site, and the working group will need todecide whether to refit that structure for CA useor raze it. It is likely that the new fields will bethe first part of any plan to be implemented; amaster plan is expected to be finalized in 2008.
Meanwhile, U.S. History and Geology stu-dents have already spent class time on the prop-erty. “CA’s teachers have always considered thetown of Concord to be an extended classroom,and this land offers more chances for experientiallearning,” said Dresden. In addition, he said,“CA enjoys very positive relations with the Townof Concord, and that has continued throughoutthis acquisition process. We hope to allow thetown to use the land in ways that strengthen the bonds we already have. That private-publicpartnership is very important to us.”
Early in the process of acquiring the newland, as the board wrestled with its decision,there was some debate about how this purchasewould fit in with the other important goals forCA's future. Board President Ellen CondliffeLagemann '63 said that her excitement about thepurchase was based on her strong belief that itwould serve CA in many positive ways. “Thepossibility of acquiring land we urgently neededwas extremely exciting,” said Lagemann. “I amalso keenly aware of the other priorities—espe-cially financial aid and faculty support—and Iknew we needed to keep those priorities clearlyin sight and use this great opportunity toadvance them as well.”
Eberle agreed with Lagemann and said hebacked the purchase because it would supportboth students and faculty by enhancing the edu-cational program and enlarging the scope ofwork they can do. “The board is very committedto using this purchase to fulfill many strategicgoals that the school has identified,” said Eberle.“I also think the excitement that this purchasehas generated will call attention to the otherimportant goals of the school, in particularscholarship funds and faculty compensation. Wecan’t take our eye off the ball.”
Lagemann said she believes the acquisitionwill, in fact, bring all eyes back to the ball. “CAhas engaged in a lot of strategic thinking overthe past several years. The new land purchasegives us a compelling reason to return to our2002 strategic plan, renew our commitment toit, and uncover areas that need updating. Think -ing systematically about current and future directions will keep CA vibrant, so I welcomethis exciting new era in CA’s life and the greatplanning to come.”
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Members of Concord Academy’s Board of Trustees toured the newly acquired property last fall.
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Elizabeth Ballantine ’66
lizabeth Ballantine’s tenure as a trustee is an
encore: she served onConcord Academy’s boardfrom 1987 to 1992, and haschaired the boards at GrinnellCollege and the NationalCathedral School, where sheheaded the team that searchedfor a new head of school.
An executive with EBAAssociates, a consulting firmin Washington, DC, Ballantinehas been a director of theMcClatchy Company andCowles Media Company andpracticed law with Dickstein,Shapiro, Morin, andOshinsky, a Washington, DCfirm. Ballantine holds bache-lor’s, master’s, and doctoraldegrees from Yale Universityand a law degree fromAmerican University. Ties toCA run deep: family membersamong CA alumnae/i includeher sister Helen Healy ’69 andcousins Elizabeth Bullitt ’67and Ruth Radin ’96.
Valerie Cummings P’05, ’08
alerie Cummings joins the board as the presi-
dent of CA Parents, which she has served since her sonBrett Andrews ’05 entered CAin 2001. Cummings, a gradu-ate student learning specialistat Harvard University, lives inConcord with her husband,Timothy Andrews, and herson Tyler Andrews, who grad-uates from CA this spring.Cummings, a graduate ofDartmouth with a doctorate
from Harvard, brings herexpertise as a psychologist andCA volunteer to the board.She has cochaired two finan-cial aid benefits, served on CA Parents’ executive board,and participated in variouscommittees.
Thomas “Tom” First ’85
om First brings the creative energy of an
entrepreneur and the experi-ence of a seasoned boardmember to CA. Founder and
CEO of O Beverages andcofounder and former CEOof Nantucket Nectars, Firstserved on CA’s Board ofTrustees from 1998 to 2004,cochairing the Program PolicyCommittee and serving on theExecutive Committee. Afterhis board term ended, hestayed involved as a memberof the CommunicationsPlanning Task Force and theInstitutional Identity TaskForce. A graduate of BrownUniversity, Tom lives inConcord with his wife,Kristan, and their children,Timothy, Olivia, and Luke.Tom’s sister, Allison RoseBeakley, graduated fromConcord Academy in 1987.
Elisabeth “Lisa” Frusztajer
’80, P’10
isa Frusztajer returns to CA’s Board of Trustees,
bringing with her abundantexperience in the worlds ofeducation and business—aswell as a strong heritage offamily involvement at CA.Lisa’s father, Bill Frusztajer,
served as a CA trustee from1978 to 1984, the last fouryears as the board president.
Frusztajer, currently at a smallsoftware company, has experi-ence in technology, finance,and marketing. She holdsdegrees from the University ofChicago, the London Schoolof Economics, and ColumbiaBusiness School.
Frusztajer’s long volunteercareer at CA includes servingon the Board of Trustees from1989 to 1995; she has also beenan Alumnae/i Council mem-ber, class agent, class secretary,and, most recently, freshmanand sophomore class chair for the Parent Annual Givingprogram.
Outside CA, she has served onthe Lexington MontessoriSchool Board of Trustees andthe Board of Overseers of theNew England Conservatory.
Lisa lives in Lexington, Mass a chusetts, with her husband, Larry Tye, and her children, Marina Long ’10
Who’s New?
Meet the Latest Additions to CA’s Board of Trustees
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and Alec Long. Her sister,Nina Frusztajer Marquis,graduated from ConcordAcademy in 1982.
Keith B. Gelb ’88
eith Gelb shares his keen investment, manage-
ment, and business acumenwith CA’s Board of Trustees.As a cofounder and managingmember of Rockpoint Group,a real estate private equityfirm, Gelb oversees the company’s activities, which currently include the manage -ment of approximately $6 billion of equity. He also is a managing member ofWest brook Real EstatePartners (WREP), a real estateinvestment management com-pany. Before Rockpoint andWREP, Gelb worked in thecorporate finance departmentwithin Morgan Stanley’sinvestment banking group.The Wharton grad is involvedin several nonprofit interestsoutside CA, includingChildren’s Hospital Boston.He lives in Weston, Massa -
chusetts, with his wife,Debbie, and their sons, Max,Nate, and Tyler.
Sarah E. Muyskens ’72
management consultant with a specialty in non-
profits, Sarah E. Muyskensjoins CA’s board with exten-sive prior board experience.She serves on the boards ofthe National Audubon Soc -iety, Smart Growth Vermont,the Hubbard Brook ResearchFoundation, the VermontChildren’s Hospital AdvisoryCommittee, and the Gover -nor’s Council of Environmen -tal Advisors. She has chairedthe Board of the VermontNatural Resources Council.
A staunch environmentalist,Muyskens has been deputydirector of the EnvironmentalDefense Fund and NewEngland director of theWilderness Society. At theLeahy Center for Lake Cham -plain, she chaired a $14.7 mil-lion effort to launch ECHO,an education-oriented lakeaquarium and science center.
Muyskens has been a class secretary and admissions rep-resentative for CA; she alsobrings strong family connec-tions to her tenure on theboard. Her father, JohnMuyskens, was CA’s directorof college placement from1974 to 1977 and served astrustee from 1972 to 1974. Her siblings, Alison ’78 andJohn, attended CA. SarahMuyskens, a Yale graduate,lives in Burlington, Vermont,with her husband, MichaelGreen, and their children,Benjamin, Alexandra, andElizabeth.
Jorge Solares-Parkhurst ’94
senior managing director in the Financial Institu -
tions Group at Bear Stearnssince 2006, Jorge Solares-Parkhurst brings expertise infinance and investment strat-egy to CA’s Board of Trustees.Before Bear Stearns, Solares-Parkhurst spent nine yearswith UBS Investment Bank,where he was a director of theFinancial Institutions Groupand a senior member of theinvestment banking coverageteam for specialty financeclients.
A graduate of GeorgetownUniversity, Solares-Parkhurstserves on the Board ofDirectors of Sponsors forEducational Opportunity(SEO), a high school mentor-ing program for minorities inNew York City. He has been aclass agent for CA and a mem-
ber of the Alumnae/i Council.Solares-Parkhurst lives inBronxville, New York with hiswife, Karina Cisneros-Solares.
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“CA does such a great job of attracting andenrolling a full class of strong studentswho seem to be such a super fit for ourschool—I don’t understand why we spendso much money on financial aid.”
Why AccessMatters
by John McGarry, Director of Financial Aid
his recent observation came during a conversation with someone new to the CA community. He had just learned that the second-largest line item in the CA budget after faculty compensation was financial aid for families in the form of need-based tuition grants. At just over $2 million, it’s no small example of Concord Academy putting its money where its
institutional mouth is. But why such an investment in something thatat first glance doesn’t seem to be so pressing? Well, consider this:
As Concord Academy’s current director of financial aid, I happen to be left-handed and have blue eyes. Approximately 15 percent of the population on our planet is left-handed. About one in six Americans (17 percent) will be born with blue eyes this year, and that number happens to be going down at a swift rate as the ethnic diversity of ourcountry increases. This means that I represent about 3 percent of ourcountry’s population.
Now let’s suppose that I decide to open my own independent highschool with plans to populate it with a certain kind of student—mykind. The only admission criteria will be that a student, male or female,be left-handed and have blue eyes. If you qualify, you’re in—no appli -cation to fill out, no test scores, just look us in the eye and show us
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less than the income required to afford this quantity of post-tax, dispos-able income annually. In other words, very few people in the countryearn enough each year to afford an independent school education.
So how does Concord Academy fill the seats in our Chapel each fall? In some cases, families save for many years to realize this opportunity.In other cases, extended family members have accrued wealth and offerto defray the cost. Other families take out loans, trim luxuries, andreduce or temporarily eliminate retirement planning. The combinedeffect of these creative funding efforts raises the number who can affordour tuition to more than 3 percent, but not by enough. Not a monthgoes by before another article appears in the national media about thepaltry national savings rate and the fact that the overwhelming majorityof households in this country are spending just about what they earneach month—with little or nothing left over for education costs.Independent schools also struggle against a popularly held nationalopinion that while saving for college is wise, saving for high school isless practiced and prudent.
Financial aid comes to the rescue of Concord Academy’s mission state-ment—to a limited extent. As an admissions office, we seek to realizethe mission of our school by enrolling a student body “animated by alove of learning, enriched by a diversity of backgrounds and perspec-tives, and guided by a covenant of common trust.” Each year a cross-section of the financial population is represented in the applicant pool,and each year many of those students who are offered acceptance alsoqualify for financial aid.
Unfortunately, one half of accepted students who qualify for financialaid are not offered aid and therefore are not able to enroll. In otherwords, demand outstrips supply by a factor of two to one. On average,about 20 percent of each class receives some level of financial aid atConcord Academy, and this percentage has remained steady over thelast fourteen years or so, despite average annual tuition increases of 6 percent. While aiding 20 percent of our population is a start, it palesin comparison to the demonstrated need; CA’s figure also lags farbehind some of our peer schools, several of whom are offering need-based financial aid to more than 45 percent of their student population.It is all too common for Concord Academy to offer admission to a terrific new student who qualifies for financial aid, then be forced towaitlist that student. We then learn that this student must decline ouroffer and will enroll in a competitor school that was able to offer financial aid. This is why we in the Admissions Office are so passionatein our belief that financial aid is both a powerful and effective tool infulfilling the goals of our mission-driven enrollment plan each year.
Just as one would never hope to enroll an entire school of blue-eyed,left-handed students, we hope to offer more students the chance to con-sider admission to Concord Academy without concern for their family’sability to pay. Our goal is to become a school that is able to enroll anentire class of students because we feel they are the ones best suitedboth to contribute and to benefit from all that Concord Academy has tooffer. Financial aid gets us closer to reaching that goal, and increasingaid will get us closer still. We can take pride in the fact that a primarygoal of the current capital campaign is to substantially increase the levelof financial aid at CA. It is a goal that will bring us significantly closerto fulfilling our mission.
20% 30% 40%
your best left-handed lay-up to earn that acceptance letter. Certainly I would be ill-advised to summarily exclude 97 percent of our popula-tion from even considering the new “LeftBlue Academy,” right? Nodoubt it would be extremely difficult to enroll a class of intelligent,dynamic, and qualified students if I couldn’t consider the vast majorityof the population.
Such is the case for an independent school that offers no financial aid.According to statistics provided by the National Association ofIndependent Schools, with CA’s day school tuition at $32,425 andboarding tuition at $40,100, 97 percent of the U.S. population earns
Adding Quantity to Quality
Tuition grants are the largest line item in CA’s financial aidbudget. However, to enhance a sense of equity among all CAstudents, substantial funding is also available for additionalaspects of the CA experience, including textbooks, computers,private music lessons and instrument rental, student healthinsurance, academic tutoring, athletic equipment, and all school-sponsored trips. In addition, the parents of students on aid aregiven necessary help with transportation and lodging for key CAevents. This equitable and comprehensive approach to the chal-lenge of funding a CA student sets our financial aid programapart. To this quality, we seek to add quantity.
Where we are:72 students receiving just over $2 million
in need-based financial aid among a student
population of 360 (20 percent)
Our interim goal:108 students receiving just over $3.1 million
in need-based financial aid without growing the
population (30 percent)
Where we’ll be when we arrive:145 students receiving just over $4.2 million
in need-based financial aid among a student
population of 360 (40 percent)
The most effective way to ensure this growth in the group ofstudents on financial aid is to endow it. A $1 million contributionto endowment creates two permanent additions to the financialaid student population (assuming each student is receiving theaverage aid package of $25,000). Our interim goal that 30 per-cent of students receive financial aid can be achieved by adding$17 million to the endowment. Concord Academy will becomea truly need-blind school, whereby the best-matched studentswill be able to enroll without concern for ability to pay, whenthe portion of the endowment devoted to financial aid grows to$35 million. When we reach that goal, 40 percent of CA stu-dents will receive financial aid.
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Barney Backhoe and the Big
City Dig
Susan Knopf ’74Running Press, 2006
Barney Backhoe and friends areabout to embark on a big down-town project. On the way to thecity, Barney encounters roadsidechallenges he can’t ignore. With acan-do attitude, the determinedbackhoe digs right in to save theday. But will he make it in time forthe groundbreaking dig? Colorfulillustrations and clear languagemake this an ideal choice for theearly reader who is fascinated bybig trucks.
Mapping the Fourth Dimension:
Poems
Laura Davies Foley ’75 Harbor Mountain Press, 2006
Poetry is the medium in whichFoley expresses extreme grief fol-lowing the death of her husband.By guiding readers through theemotional fourth dimension, shereveals the depth of her loss andthe cathartic power of the writtenword.
From “A Circle of Ravens: the Mountain”
The beloved is within my soul,
the one for whom my heart makes
breath and sings.
To the Last Salute: Memories of
an Austrian U-Boat Commander
Georg von Trapp, translated byElizabeth M. Campbell ’73 University of Nebraska Press, 2007
Well before his family’s daringdeparture from Austria in 1938,Baron von Trapp earned fame andrecognition as the top submarinecommander in the Austro-Hungarian navy. Translated intoEnglish for the first time is hisaccount of a life under the sea inthe early years of U-boat warfare.Campbell notes that she undertookthe translation to “let my childrenbecome acquainted with theextraordinary man who was theirgreat-grandfather” and “to rectifythe false image of him portrayedonscreen and onstage” in TheSound of Music. (Read aboutElizabeth M. Campell in Alumnae/iProfiles, Concord Academymagazine, Spring 2007, online atwww.concordacademy.org.)
What Children Need
Jane Waldfogel ’72 Harvard University Press, 2006
All working families face toughdecisions regarding child care, butfor low-income families, choice isnearly nonexistent. Despite theFederal Family and Medical LeaveAct, only 50 percent of working par-ents in the private sector are cov-ered, and the leave is unpaid. Oflow-income parents, more than halfhave no paid time off from work,and only 30 percent have morethan five days of paid time off peryear. Waldfogel examines theessential needs of children through-out all phases of life and detailshow child-rearing options in theUnited States have not kept pacewith the rapidly changing work envi-ronment. She draws comparisonswith other developed nations andbelieves the essential keys to work-family issues are “respectingparental choice, promoting qualitycare, and supporting employment.”
Barney Backhoe and the Big City Dig
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Forgotten Families: Ending the
Growing Crisis Confronting
Children and Working Parents in
the Global Economy
Jody Heymann ’77 Oxford University Press, 2006
As the founder and director of theProject on Global Working Families,Heymann set out to collect the sto-ries of working families around theworld. The extensive findings of herteam’s decade-long research arepresented in this comprehensivereport. Its international scope isespecially groundbreaking, as previ-ous employment and child-rearingstudies focused primarily on theUnited States and Western Europe.Despite the grim situation,Heymann offers solutions, such asthe establishment of minimumstandards in the workplace for par-ents and caregivers.
100 Questions from My Child
Mallika Chopra ’89 Rodale, 2007
Informed by questions from hertwo young daughters and theirfriends, Chopra addresses both theheartwarming and heart-wrenchinginquiries of children with depth andcompassion. From “Where did Icome from?” to “Are there childrenin space?” this young motherresponds to the inquisitive natureof children in her followup to 100Promises to My Baby.
The End as I Know It: A Novel of
Millennial Anxiety
Kevin Shay ’91 Doubleday, 2006
What’s Randall, the Wacky SingingPuppet Guy, to do when the end ofthe world is imminent? Spread theY2K gospel to impressionableyoung audiences with the help ofhis furry companion, R.K. Raccoon.Family and friends look on in horroras the possessed puppeteer makesa desperate dash cross country asthe final day approaches. Will thisoverwhelming obsession withimpending doom lead Randall tothe brink?
Butch Is a Noun
S. Bear Bergman ’92 Suspect Thoughts Press, 2006
As a playwright, storyteller, andseasoned college lecturer, Bergmanhas enlightened students acrossthe country to the complexities ofgender identity and has helpeddraft institutional policies regardingthe fair treatment of transgenderedand transsexual persons. Theessays within Butch Is a Noun pro-vide readers with a lifetime explo-ration of self-identity that forciblychallenges established assumptionsand perceptions of gender in thetwenty-first century.
CA Bookshelf by Martha Kennedy, Library Director
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Korea Style
Unsoo Kim ’86 Tuttle Publishing, 2006
Within the leaves of this large-format volume are striking imagesof twenty-four locations where traditional artifacts merge withultramodern design—each com -bining to create a unique “Koreastyle.” From a gallery of antiquitiesin Tokyo to a Confucian seowon(academy) overlooking the verdantByeong Mountains, the Korean perspective is widely represented.While the director of the KukjeGallery in Seoul, Kim curatedexhibits by video artist Bill Viola and sculptors Anish Kapoor andRichard Long.
Musical Notes
Joyful Signby Girlyman
Featuring Nate Borofsky ’93 Girlyman Inc., 2007
Quartetby Larry Goldings ’86
Palmetto Records, 2006
Quantum Leapby the Matt Savage Trio
Featuring John Funkhouser ’84 Palmetto Records, 2006
Ooh La La, Sha Shaby Miss Fairchild
Featuring Sam Posner ’99 and Schuyler Whelden ’98 MF Live Sucka!, 2007
Coming in the spring issue of
Concord Academy magazine,
works by:
Julie Agoos ’74
Katherine Bucknell ’75
Sheldon Culver ’66
Sam Davol ’88
Drew Gilpin Faust ’64
Robert Pierce Forbes ’76
Jane Fletcher Geniesse ’54
Claudia Gonson ’86
Faculty Emeritus Philip McFarland
David Michaelis ’75
Ruth Lounsbury Ozeki ’74
Andrea Silverman ’87
Send your book and music news to
Selected photos from Korea Style
Dance Partner: Baryshnikov
ummer Stages Dance, directed by CA’s Per -
form ing Arts Department Head Amy Spencer and dance teacher Richard Colton,has partnered with theBaryshnikov Arts Center tocreate a six-week residency,designed to support an outstanding choreographer as he or she prepares a newwork for his or her dance company.
The residency began last July and August at Sum -mer Stages Dance at ConcordAcademy. The winner, ChrisElam and the MisnomerDance Theater, continued itsresidency at the BaryshnikovArts Center in New York inSeptember and October.
SCA in Wonderland
n December, the CA Chorussang in two family concerts
with the Concord Orchestra(below), which has performedin the town of Concord since1953. The CA Chorus sangIrving Fine’s “Three Chorusesfrom Alice in Wonderland.“
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FBlood Wedding
lamenco-drenched and sultry, Federico
Garcia Lorca’s BloodWedding hit CA’s main-stage in November. Theplay was directed by MeganGleeson and produced byDavid R. Gammons, withmusical direction by PeymanFarzinpour and choreogra-phy by Amy Spencer. Below: Jannie Kitchen ’09,Emily Cole ’09, and GradyGund ’08.
Yaliza Bacchus ’10, Eva Yuma ’08, Jee Hee Yang ’10, and Daphne Kim ’10 in a scene from Blood Wedding
AR
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VWinters’ Season
isual Arts teacher Antoinette Winters
exhibited her drawings in theshow, “From a Fixed Point:New Art from the Old NorthBridge,” at the Concord ArtAssociation in October. IlanaManolson P’11 curated theexhibit, and another CA parent, Liz Awalt P’10, alsodisplayed her works.
Winters and other visual arts faculty also showed personal works throughout the Boston area during openstudios this fall. Winters has a studio in Waltham Mills inWaltham; Visual Arts Depart -ment Head Cynthia Katzexhibits in the ARTspace build-ing in Maynard; Jessica Strausin Brickbottom in Somerville;and Jonathan Smith atEmerson Umbrella in Concord.
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CA-Cambridge Connections
t was hard to miss CA’s presence around the open-
ing of Harvard University’sNew College Theatre this fall:
—CA’s Theatre ProgramDirector David R. Gammons,who is on sabbatical, wasinvited to direct the NewCollege Theatre’s inauguralproduction, Oh Dad, Poor Dad,Mamma’s Hung You in theCloset and I’m Feelin’ So Sadby Arthur Kopit.
—Both Gammons andHarvard’s president, Drew Gilpin Faust ’64, attended thetheatre’s gala grand opening.
—CA’s new playwritinginstructor, Melinda Lopez,spoke on a panel of distin-guished playwrights includingJohn Guare, Adam Rapp, andPaula Vogel. The panel, moder-ated by American RepertoryTheatre founder RobertBrustein, discussed the topic,“Does Playwriting Have aFuture?”
ICA’s Big Bang
hen the Bang Group presented Nut/Cracked,
a twisted take on the Christ -mas classic, at the BostonCenter for the Arts inNovember, Concord Academywas along for the irreverentride. Among the dancerswere Emma Patterson Ware’09, Marissa Palley ’04, andKate Cross ’95.
WImages from Chiapas
hen Carlota Duarte wanted to capture the
life of Chiapas, Mexico onfilm, she didn’t take photos.She gave villagers the cameras.
The result is the ChiapasPhotography Project and theIndigenous PhotographyArchive. A selection of thephotos was on display in CA’s Ransome Room duringmuch of October, and Duarte spoke at an assembly and during a reception at CA thatwas open to the public. Shewas brought to CA with thehelp of CA parent Liz Awalt P’10 and Visual Arts Depart -ment Head Cynthia Katz. Theexhibit, called “NuestraComida, Our Food,” capturedthe ingredients that make upthe daily lives of the residentsof Chiapas.
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Old North Bridge No. 3(top) and Old North BridgeNo. 4, by visual arts teacherAntoinette Winters
Melinda Lopez
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Q&AJohn Funkhouser ’84
John Funkhouser ‘84 played with the Matt Savage Trio at an assembly
in September. Matt, 15, is an autistic savant who recorded his first solo
album in 1999, played with jazz great Dave Brubeck in 2000, and has
appeared on numerous television shows and in noted jazz clubs.
Funkhouser, an associate professor at Boston’s Berklee School of Music
and leader of his own band, FunkHouse, has played with Matt since the
prodigy was eight.
Funkhouser had a lot more to say than space allows; see the entire
interview at www.concordacademy.org/funkhouser.
Have you always leaned
toward jazz?
Jazz is my deepest interest, but part of whatI love about jazz is that there is room in itfor all kinds of other music. I hear Bach inKeith Jarrett, twentieth-century composersin Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock,Spanish influence in Jelly Roll Morton. Myroots are in classical music, rock, blues, andfunk. I’m also very into Indian classicalmusic and the music of Brazil, Cuba, andBulgaria, and to a lesser extent manyAfrican, Asian, European, and LatinAmerican countries. I’m always on the look-out for music I have yet to digest and makepart of myself—I want to be a truly globalmusical citizen.
How old were you when you
began studying music?
I started music in second grade as a classicalpianist, but my first piano teacher alwaysinsisted that her students improvise, even inrecitals. This was always my favorite part ofthe lesson, because I could just play any-thing that popped into my head—it waseasy! But I started to really love music onlywhen I discovered ragtime, thanks to themovie The Sting. So from fourth grade on, I would get through my classical practicingas fast as possible so I could get on to theragtime and improvising (which my mothercalled “fooling around”). My father was ajazz fan, and I loved a Benny Goodmanrecord he often played, but it never crossedmy mind that jazz was something I coulddo seriously, because I thought it was just“fooling around.”
How did you get involved with
the Matt Savage Trio?
I was in the house band at a jam session atthe Acton [Massachusetts] Jazz Café, andMatt came to sit in. He was eight and wasalready wowing people with his prodigiouspiano playing. Afterward Matt’s mom askedif I would be interested in doing a benefitconcert with him. I said I’d love to, and itjust went on from there.
What has been your favorite
moment in a Matt Savage concert?
Usually my favorite moments are whenMatt does something I haven’t heard himdo before. In one recent concert, we played
(continued)
What did John Funkhouser
look like at CA? See page 19—
he is at the top left of the
1980s choral photo.
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an older song that we hadn’t played in about sixmonths, and suddenly he was putting all kindsof Rachmaninoff and Bach in there. It’s easy tohear what classical music he is working on,because it comes out in his jazz playing. Lastyear, there was a lot of Debussy.
Can you describe your relationship
with Matt? You seemed to be beam-
ing at points during the assembly,
almost like a proud father.
My relationship with Matt is complex and multi-faceted. I am at once his teacher and mentor(though not officially—he has a legendary pianoteacher named Charlie Banacos), something likean uncle or all-around role model and advocate,sideman (which really means employee!), andincreasingly as the years go by, musical colleagueand equal. I love to see him growing up. Heused to be like a beautiful, delicate, and some-what fragile flower, and every time I see him, afew more petals have opened and his worldencompasses more and more.
What would you say you’ve learned
from Matt?
He’s one of the most gentle people I have everknown, and I try to emulate that gentleness inmy own life. I have learned patience and perse-verance, because when he was younger, it wasvery difficult to communicate with him becauseof his autism. Another thing that inspires meabout Matt is his unabashed imagination and
sense of fun. He’s not encumbered with theusual worries about whether he’s being cool orhip enough, or right or wrong, or appropriate orinappropriate—he just plays.
Did anything at CA put you on the road
to being a professional musician?
Absolutely. I remember clearly that the idea ofbecoming a music teacher first occurred to me in my AP Harmony class with Vicky Sirota. Mrs. Sirota was a wonderful role model on many levels, partly because she was so much fun. I also had great experiences with Keith Daniel(parti cularly the musicals, music history class,and a private composition tutorial I did withhim) and with Ross Adams, who took over theJazz Ensemble my senior year. I got to play jazzbass for the first time, and it was a great band,with Larry Goldings, who was then only a sophomore but already a musical giant among
children. My first paying jazz gig outside ofschool was as the bassist with Larry Goldings. I was terrible—no, I was horrible—and it wassurely only out of decency and restraint that hedidn’t fire me after the first tune!
Do you remember other serious jazz
musicians at CA?
The other musician I became very close with atCA was a freshman when I was a senior—BillKitses ’87. He and I were both insanely into LedZeppelin. We formed a short-lived band calledX.S. that performed a couple of times—once at aCA assembly. I was the bassist and lead singer,and Bill played guitar. My parents came to theassembly and were shocked! My mother stilltalks about it because she had never heard mescream like that before. Bill got serious aboutjazz only after we were at CA together, but hiscareer was cut short by his tragic and untimelydeath in 1993. It was so sad because he was sucha great, fun guy, and he had a great career aheadof him.
What recent works of yours should
we know about?
I’m most proud of the two CDs I have made as the leader of FunkHouse, which are calledsimply FunkHouse and FunkHouse II. I play bass in a band called the Sonic Explorers, whichhas a new CD out that I’m very happy with (see www.sonicexplorers.com). I’m a guest on ahip-hop CD with a band called Elephant House.I have several CDs out with other bands aswell—two with Pierre Hurel’s Trio, several withthe Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, two withKatahdin’s Edge, one with Steve Thomas.
Is there anything else we should
know about you?
I’ve been married for twelve years to a womanwho does cancer research, and I have an eight-year-old daughter who studies tabla (drums inNorth Indian classical music) and hip-hopdance. My four years at CA were among thehappiest of my life, and were unquestionably thebest time I ever had in any school.
If you were composing a piece for
CA, what would it be like?
Intelligent, open-minded, fun, and carefree, withplenty of personality.
John Funkhouser ’84, center, during the assembly at CA with the Matt Savage Trio
Matt Savage
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FALL HIGHLIGHTS
The boys cross country team fin-ished a stellar season with a fourth-place finish at the New Englandchampionship meet. During theseason, the runners went 15–1,earning the regular-season EILchampionship title. With theirsuperb pack running, the team alsowon the EIL Championship meet, a two-banner season. Four runnersplaced first during the season:Patrick D’Arcy ’08, Tyler Andrews’08, David Wilder ’08, and AaronFreedman ’08. David and DuncanSherwood-Forbes ’08 were namedEIL All-League runners, and first-year Head Coach Jon Waldron wasnamed EIL Coach of the Year.
The boys soccer team’s seasonended on a high note, with a sec-ond consecutive bid to the NEPSACtournament. The team completedits best record since Head CoachAdam Simon took over in 1999, finishing 8–3–3. Each of the threelosses was by just one goal, andthe team yielded only 15 goals in 14 games, giving senior goalkeeperJoe Shapiro a 1.07 goals againstaverage this season and a spot onthe Eastern Independent League(EIL) All-League team. The teamearned a number-eight seed to theNew England Tournament, wherethey faced number-one seed TiltonSchool. In a hard-fought game, CA fell 2–1. Joining Joe on the All-League team were senior tri-captains Henry Butman, NathanCoppersmith, and David Noam.Head Coach Adam Simon wasnamed EIL Coach of the Year
The girls field hockey team finished with an impressive 6–2–2league record. Senior goalkeeperJoy deLeon maintained a 91 per-
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Above: CA runners Duncan Sherwood-Forbes ’08 and Tyler Andrews ’08. Below: Lizzie Durney ’10.
cent save average, allowing just sixgoals throughout the season. Theteam went into overtime five timesduring the season. EIL All-Leaguerecipients included Joy deLeon ’08,Tania Torres ’08, Hannah Kaemmer’09, and Olivia Pimm ’10.
The girls cross country team fin-ished seventh in New England thisseason and fifth in the EIL. RachelFrenkil ’08 was the top NewEngland finisher for CA, in seven-teenth place, followed closely byKyra Morris ’11, in twentieth place.During the EIL Championship meeteach member of the team ran a per-sonal best, helping the team to theirfifth-place finish.
The girls soccer team posted anoverall record of 6–9, 4–8 in theleague, finishing in seventh place inthe EIL. The team was led by threeEIL All-League players: FrancesBothfeld ’08, Mary Matthews ’08,and Fannie Watkinson ’08.
The golf team enjoyed another solidseason, led by two-time EIL All-League player Justin Stedman ’08.The team finished the season withthe EIL tournament, held atNashawtuc Country Club. The highlight of the season was a winover Pingree School 3.5–2.5, aftersuffering a 1.5–4.5 loss earlier in the season.
ATHLETIC ACCOLADES
EIL Regular Season Champions
CA Boys Cross Country
EIL Championship Meet Winner
CA Boys Cross Country
NEPSAC Tournament Qualifier
CA Boys Soccer
NEPSTA Invitational Division 2 Cross
Country Championship
CA Boys Cross Country — 4thCA Girls Cross Country — 7th
EIL Coaches of the Year
Adam Simon — Boys SoccerJon Waldron — Boys Cross Country
NEPSAC Senior All-Star
Henry Butman ’08 — Boys Soccer
(continued next page)
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or Tim Hult, coaching has a lot to do with life and a little to do with golf.When he describes his goals for CA’s golf
team, he mentions skills first, but in the samebreath speaks of golf etiquette and sports-manship, which he measures by whether bothwinners and losers have enjoyed the match.
Notice how much Justin Stedman ’09 saysabout golf technique when he describes whatmakes Hult special: “Coach Tim has a great abil-ity to put things in perspective. He’s alwaysteaching us about life outside of CA. His senseof humility and humor are invaluable for theteam’s cohesiveness.” Justin went on to sayhow much Hult is respected as golf commis-sioner for the Eastern Independent League (EIL),how he brings snacks after matches so theteam members will socialize with their com -petitors, and how he invites everyone whohelped out with the team to a postseasonparty. Not a word from Justin about improvinghis golf swing.
He did, however, mention the coach’s generosity and his foster children. In fact, Hultand his wife Mary have opened their home tomore than fifty foster children since 2000. Mostare referred by the state Department of SocialServices, usually because their parents have
F
Soccer players Joshua Reed-Diawuoh ’09 (below), Rutledge Chin-Feman ’08(left), and Renee Leatherman-Aelion ’08 (right)
Tim Hult
Golf Coach, Life Coach
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EIL All-League
Frances Bothfeld ’08 — Girls SoccerMary Matthews ’08 — Girls SoccerFannie Watkinson ’08 — Girls Soccer
Joy deLeon ’08 — Field HockeyHannah Kaemmer ’09 — Field HockeyOlivia Pimm ’10 — Field HockeyTania Torres ’08 — Field Hockey
Henry Butman ’08 — Boys SoccerNathan Coppersmith ’08 — Boys SoccerDavid Noam ’08 — Boys SoccerJoe Shapiro ’08 — Boys Soccer
Justin Stedman ’09 — Golf
David Wilder ’08 — Boys Cross CountryDuncan Sherwood-Forbes ’08 — BoysCross Country
EIL Honorable Mention
Rachel Frenkil ’08 — Girls Cross CountryChelsey Bowman ’08 — Girls SoccerTyler Andrews ’08 — Boys Cross CountryAaron Freedman ’08 — Boys Cross CountryMax Silverman ’10 — GolfMax Rater ’08 — Boys SoccerPatrick Walker ’08— Boys Soccer
ALUMNAE/I CORNER
Liz Mygatt ’99 (below) won goldmedals in the Canadian HenleyRegatta last summer, in the seniorwomen’s single and the cham -pionship women’s single events.
Susan Ford, a former girls lacrossecoach at CA, was recently inductedinto the National Lacrosse Hall ofFame.
Ana Luderowski ‘06 ran on aCarleton College cross countryteam that placed fourth in itsregion.
Sam Smith ‘04, rowing on the first varsity boat for WilliamsCollege, helped her team finishthird of forty-four at the Head of the Charles.
substance abuse problems. Hult often brings thekids to CA with him. The life lesson is not loston the golfers. “CA kids have great expectationsfrom day one,” Hult said. “For these other kids,you really want to foster expectations.”
The Hults have given a home to childrenfrom birth to age eighteen, including nine babies.They stay from a few weeks to several months.The Hults raised one little boy, whose motherwas a heroin addict, from birth until he wasadopted at seven months. They have hostedseveral Cambodian children through the SharingFoundation, an organization in which the Hultsare particularly active. “We’re specialists inshort-term,” Hult said. “When there’s danger ofabuse or neglect, kids are removed from thehome, and we get them while [authorities] figureout what’s going to happen.”
When the first child arrived in 2000, Hulthad ten weeks of training under his belt butcouldn’t help feeling scared. “You don’t knowwhat it’s going to be like. How traumatized arethey going to be?” he said. “After a few kids,you realize they’re pretty much kids, and theywant everything to be normal.”
When Hult sold his company, Tessera, in2000, he and Mary decided to devote their livesto service. Hult also chairs the Board of
Selectmen in Carlisle, Massachusetts, and heand Mary have long been involved at ConcordAcademy—Mary has chaired CA Parents,cochaired Friends of Concord Academy Athletics(FOCAA), and served on CA’s Board of Trustees.The Hult children attended CA: Lauren ’98, Erin ’00, and Jason ’02.
To Hult, coaching is another face of service.He led soccer and basketball town and travelleagues for years and began coaching at CA —first JV basketball, then golf — after Jason graduated.
One of Hult’s most satisfying momentswith the golf team has little to do with the sport.It was a few years ago, when a CA player andsomeone from another team were both consid-ered for a Player of the Year distinction. “Makesure the other kid gets it,” the CA student toldHult. That player had fought back after cancer inhis leg, and the CA student realized that any golfmatch paled beside a cancer battle.
It was a meaningful moment — for Hult thecoach and Hult the role model.
— by Gail Friedman
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Clockwise from top left:field hockey player IsabelWalsh ’10; runners OliviaFantini ’10, CarolineHowe ’10, Haesung Kim’08, Bonnie Cao ’09,Sarah Wilker ’11, andCathy Nam ’09; soccerplayer Monica Stadecker’09; and soccer playerDavid Noam ’08
I N M E M O R I A M
�
Harry L. Barrett, Jr., father of Sarah Barrett-Page ’64 and Jane Barrett ’65
Sheryl A. Blair, mother of Blair Jesse Ellyn Reich ’98
Sally Davis Brett ’34
Mortimer Buckley, father of Deirdre Buckley Clark ’82
Rachel Burrell, grandmother of Harvey A. Burrell ’09
Adeline Cabot, mother of Lucia Lee Cabot Cipolla ’44
Ethan A. Dennison, father of Diana Dennison Smith ’64 and grandfather of Cecilia F. Roussel ’01
Henry S. Drinker, husband of Ruth Brooks Drinker ’31 and father of Ann Drinker Retherford ’62
Frank Hale Ellis, father of Gay Ellis ’66 and stepgrandfather of Ezekiel W.P. Brown ’87
Marian Merrill Ferguson, mother of Marian R. Ferguson ’63 and grandmother of Lydia R. Hawkins ’01
Jeannette Cannon Glaws ’42
Laura B. Gordy, sister of Emily P. Gordy ’76
Norman Greenman, grandfather of Dylan Morris ’06 and Kyra Morris ’11
Edmund G. Hamann, brother of Joanna Hamann Shaw ’53
George H. Hart, grandfather of Anna W. Myers ’95
McGlachlin Hatch, father of Dede Hatch ’71
Nancy B. Hector, mother of Heyden White Rostow ’67 and grandmother of Theodore Rostow ’08
Richard Herold, father of Karen B. Herold ’71 and grandfather of Will Herold ’09
Joel Kukla, son of David J. Kukla ’82
Eve Curie Labouisse, stepgrandmother of Evgenia S. Peretz ’87
Daniel Mahoney, father of Hannah Mahoney ’77 and the late Matthew Mahoney ’82
Martha Borden Moss ’46, sister of Anna Borden Sides ’44 and Ethel Borden Wood ’47 and stepsister of the late Joan Merrick Neider ’43
Thurman Jack Naylor, stepfather of Julie Starr-Duker ’78 and Enid Starr ’81 and stepgrandfather of Sierra Starr ’08
William D. Nichols, husband of Nancy Bird Nichols ’48
John W. Obbard, husband of Evelyn Gordeychuk Obbard ’50
Dorothy Johnson Piper, mother of Elizabeth Piper Harder ’49, Judith Piper Lipman ’52, and Gwenyth Piper Bassetti ’54
Cynthia Fletcher Robinson ’43
Caroline Wilson Rogerson ’46
Jane Rule, former faculty
Barbara Sisson, mother of Emilie H. Osborn ’65 and Margaret Sisson ’69
Peter M. Standish, grandfather of Hannah Kaemmer ’09
Jill F. Starr, stepmother of Julie M. Starr-Duker ’78 and Enid L. Starr ’81 and stepgrandmother of Sierra Starr ’08
William A. Thornton, Jr., grandfather of Sarah L. Thornton ’09
Man Kwang Yung, grandfather of Eileen Yung ’10Photographs by Miphi Hall ‘57
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When it comes to Concord Academy traditions, Pike Aloian has lots of lively stories to tell. From the sublime (helping Molly Gregory carve Corinthians) to the silly (warning
gullible freshmen of the tripe they would enjoy at Thanksgiving din-ner), Pike’s memories of CA date back to the days when CA was home.
Even before his father David took over as headmaster in 1963,Pike was a frequent visitor to campus. His mother, Mimi FrankenbergAloian Kissling, had grown up inConcord and was herself a 1948 graduateof CA. His grandmother, Patricia E.Frankenberg, lived in Bradford House asa house parent and became CA’s directorof admissions in 1954. So by the timePike, his sister Holly, and his brotherMichael moved to the headmaster’s digsat Phelps House, Pike was very familiarwith the CA landscape and culture. “Iremember noticing how bright, moti-vated, and excited the students were, andI feel the same about the students I meettoday,” said Pike. “CA students havealways left the school eager to do some-thing meaningful with their lives.”
During the Aloians’ eight-yearstay at CA, the family moved from PhelpsHouse to a new headmaster’s house at 128 Main Street (now LeeHouse),which allowed more room for the family and for entertaining.“My mother was the hostess with the mostest,” recalled Pike, but addedthat Mimi’s central role was that of art teacher, a career she would pur-sue well beyond her CA days. He recalled enjoying watching his fatherteach students how to change a tire in “Stuff ” class; looking on as theArts-Science wing and Performing Arts Center were constructed; help-ing paint “the Jabberwocky,” the little cottage that served as the faculty
room; canoeing on the river; and welcoming to the Aloian home inter-esting speakers such as Marian Anderson, John D. Rockefeller III, andDean Acheson.
More recently, Pike watched from the Chapel lawn as his sonAndrew graduated with the Class of 2003. “One of the things hismother and I appreciated most as CA parents was the school’s willing-ness to allow Andrew every opportunity to pursue things he was inter-
ested in and to express himself,” said Pike.“I think that’s one of the great strengths ofthe school.”
Currently, Pike serves on theInvestment Committee of CA’s Board ofTrustees, which oversees management ofthe school’s endowment.
When Patricia Frankenbergretired as director of admissions in 1970,the Board of Trustees established anendowed scholarship fund in her name tohonor her long service to the school.Following the death of Mimi Aloian in late2006, the Aloian siblings added to thePatricia Frankenberg Fund as a way tohonor their mother and grandmother andto help CA reach its goal of offering aid tomore students.
“I think there are two things we can do to keep CA a greatschool: encourage faculty to want to live and work here, and encouragestudents to want to learn here,” said Pike. “So it was a difficult choicebetween a contribution benefiting faculty or one benefiting students.But adding to the fund that had already been established seemed like anice way to honor both our mother and our grandmother and all theconnections our family has had with Concord Academy. I think ourmother would have been pleased.”
Family ConnectionsThe Aloians Support Today’s CA
“We are hoping our gift will make a real difference to amotivated student who wants to attend CA but can’t afford
to pay. CA is a great school, and we want our gift to be seen as support for today’s faculty and students and
as a way of helping the school stay strong.” — D. Pike Aloian
For information on how you can make a difference, contact Meg Wilson, Director of Advancement, at [email protected] or (978) 402-2240.
David and Mimi Aloian with their children, Michael, Pike, andHolly, in 1963
Concord Academy166 Main Street
Concord, MA 01742
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Parents of alumnae/i:
If this magazine is addressed to a son or daughter who no longer maintains a permanent address
at your home, please email [email protected] with his or her current address.
Thank you.
For more information, check www.concordacademy.org.
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February 28
Dr. Chi Huang, Director of the Boston MedicalCenter Pediatric Global Health Initiative, onthe Bolivian Street Children Project
March 6
Patrick Cook-Deegan, a senior at BrownUniversity, who toured Southeast Asia on bicycle to raise funds to build schools
April 3
Ishmael Beah, a child soldier in Sierra Leonewho has spoken at the United Nations GeneralAssembly and served on a UN panel
April 1
CA Jazz Ensemble
May 15
CA Chorus
May 22
CA Film Assembly
February 21
Winter Athletic CelebrationStudent Health and Athletic Center, 5:15 p.m.
February 22 –23
The Beaux’ StratagemWinter Mainstage Theatre ProductionPerforming Arts Center, 7:30 p.m. $10
February 23
Eastern Independent League Tournaments:Boys Basketball at Concord Academy
March 8 –24
Spring Vacation
March 30
Summer Stages Dance Gala Student Health and Athletic CenterDance Studio and Atrium5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
April 11–12
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Deadand Fen Directors Seminar Theatre Festival
April 24–27
The Thoreau Project Performed by the CA Dance CompanyHenry David Thoreau Birthplace 341 Virginia Road, Concord, Massachusetts
April 26
Spring Alumnae/i Council and Annual Meetingof the Alumnae/i AssociationRansome Room, Math and Arts Center, 9:30 a.m. to noon
May 16 –17
The House of OudhAn original work inspired by Sophocles’ ElectraTheatre 3 Company Show Performing Arts Center, 7:30 p.m. $10
May 20
CA OrchestraPerforming Arts Center, 8:00 p.m.
May 22
Spring Athletic Celebration and SeniorRecognition EventPerforming Arts Center, 6:15 p.m.
May 29
BaccalaureateElizabeth B. Hall Chapel7:30 p.m.
May 30
CommencementChapel Lawn, 10:00 a.m.
June 13–15
Reunion Weekend
Special Events
Parents of alumnae/i:
If this magazine is addressed to a son or
daughter who no longer maintains a permanent
address at your home, please email
[email protected] with his or
her current address. Thank you.For more information, check www.concordacademy.org.
