alumni day - The Taft School

B U L L E T I NDinner withAlumnialumni day114thCOMMENCEMENTS U M M E R • 2 0 0 4

F E A T U R E SDinner with Alumni 24Six restaurateurs talk about the rewards andchallenges of the business and how they gotthere in the first place.By Julie ReiffAlumni Day 32By Julie Reiff, Photography by Peter FingerVoyages of Discovery 40Excerpts from the 114th CommencementRemarksBy Elisabeth Griffith, Andrew Eisen ’04,Octavia Giovannini-Torelli ’04, WillyOppenheim ’04, and William MacMullen ’78D E P A R T M E N T SFrom the Editor 4Alumni Spotlight 5Around the Pond 9Sport 18Spring highlights by Steve PalmerAnnual Fund News 21Endnote 48Some Thoughts on the Creative Processand the Fate of Artifacts by Steve SchieffelinOn the CoverFront, Boys' tennis posted its best recordin 20 years, winning the league title andfinishing 12–1 for the season. For moreon spring sports, please turn to page 18.PETER FREW '75Back, Ann Kidder and Kerry Kiley applaudtheir classmates’ achievements at the 114thCommencement Exercises. Ann receivedthe Mark Potter Award in Art and Kerry asenior athlete award. For more on the day,see page 40. BOB FALCETTIThe Taft Bulletin is published quarterly, in February,May, August, and November, by The Taft School,110 Woodbury Road, Watertown, CT 06795-2100,and is distributed free of charge to alumni, parents,grandparents, and friends of the school.E-Mail Us!Send your latest news, address change, birth announcement,or letter to the editor via e-mail. Our address isTaftBulletin@TaftSchool.org. We continue to acceptyour communiqués by fax machine (860-945-7756), telephone(860-945-7777), or U.S. Mail (110 Woodbury Road,Watertown, CT 06795-2100). So let’s hear from you!Taft on the Web:News? Stocks? Entertainment? Weather? Catch upwith old friends or make new ones, get a job andmore!—all at the Taft Alumni Community online. Visitus at www.TaftAlumni.com.What happened at this afternoon's game?—Visit us atwww.TaftSports.com for the latest Big Red coverage.For other campus news and events, including admissionsinformation, visit our main site at www.TaftSchool.org,with improved calendar features and Around thePond stories.Please take our survey!Turn to page 23 and take three minutesto tell us what you like most, and least,about this magazine. You may use theenclosed envelope to send it in.Completed surveys received bySeptember 30 will be entered into adrawing to win a Taft School chair. Or,you can e-mail your responses to us.Please follow the “Survey” links fromwww.TaftAlumni.com. The 10-member Taft Dance Ensemble performed its annual spring dance concert on April15 and 16. Featured in the performance were faculty- and student-choreographed works ofvarious styles ranging from ballet to modern to jazz. Here, the dancers kick up their heels inAfter the Ball, a classical work choreographed by faculty member Elizabeth Barisser to musicby Shostakovich. PETER FREW ’75

FROM THE EDITORThe summer issue inevitably sets me tothinking about my own reunions. Myhigh-school class was so unified thatwe waited 20 years before we held ourfirst gathering. (I probably don’t needto add that I went to a public school.)My college on the other hand welcomesgraduates back after only twoyears—so they can officially welcometheir little sisters into the alumni association.(Need I explain that I went toa women’s college?)In many ways, that first college reunion,was more memorable for methan any graduation. After two years inthe real world, or in my case, two yearsof teaching in a boarding school—notTaft—it was a revelation to me thatsome of my classmates had alreadychanged jobs several times. Unhappyas a teacher, it occurred to me for thefirst time that there was no shame inmoving on.I once gave a Morning Meeting talkhere about why, despite my decisionto give up teaching, I still chose towork in a boarding school. The truth,in part, is because I married one ofthose rare natural-born teachers whoseskills in the classroom I envied. (Sincemany of you ask, my husband Al ’80is the son of Al Reiff Sr., who passedaway in 1988—the year I came to Taft.)But the other truth that drove me towork in boarding school in the firstplace is the sense of community, thelevel of integrity and intelligence of one’scolleagues, and the opportunity to contributeto a place whose mission is noless than to train young minds to changethe world for the better.My 20th—or first, depending on howyou look at it—high-school reunion wasalso memorable. Although there werefriends I wanted to see but with whom Ihad lost touch over the years, I was alsosecretly dreading the inevitable awkwardness—theconversations with people withwhom I had little in common then andeven less now. Would those same divisionsthat defined us two decades ago stillbe there? Would they be even wider? Butwe had, thankfully, matured. Perhaps itwas a blessing we skipped over thosecareer-centered years and skipped aheadto a time in our lives where we all proudlypulled out pictures of our kids and talkedabout them as much as ourselves.That gathering reminded me of a pieceBonnie Penhollow Blackburn ’84, whowas back for her own 20th Reunion inMay, wrote for the Bulletin: “Ten Thingsto Be Ready for When Returning forAlumni Day” [Spring 2000]. Among herobservations, to me the following rangparticularly true;• Women who had trouble keeping acactus alive when you roomed withthem…will arrive with six kids confidentlyin tow.• The people you shunned in schoolwill seem surprisingly interesting,and the people you once worshipedwill seem a tad dull. You will assumethat this is because they’ve changed.Actually, it is because you have.• No matter how dull and unrewardingyour life seems to you, there willbe someone there who envies it.There is no doubt that the milestonesthat reunions and graduations are makethe late spring a very special time of year,but even if you’ve never been back tocampus for a single Alumni Day, rememberthat the class notes are, after all,a sort of Reunion in Print. So pleasecontinue to share your stories with us.—Julie Reiff, editorWe welcome Letters to the Editor relating to thecontent of the magazine. Letters may be editedfor length, clarity, and content, and are publishedat the editor’s discretion. Send correspondence to:Julie Reiff • Taft Bulletin110 Woodbury RoadWatertown, CT 06795-2100 U.S.A.or to ReiffJ@TaftSchool.org4Taft Bulletin Summer 2004

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHTAlumniSPOTLIGHTThe CandidateVote For Me! is a political comedy writtenand directed by Nelson AntonioDenis ’72 and set in El Barrio, New YorkCity. Drawn from his experience as aformer state assemblyman, it’s the storyof a 70-year-old Puerto Rican super whoruns for congress and wins.The 78-minute feature film premièredat the 2003 Tribeca Film Festivalto three sold-out houses. The New YorkTimes said the film was “reminiscent ofSpike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, but witha lighter touch.”“My four years in the New York StateAssembly were rich with drama, humorand betrayal,” Denis says. “Almost everythingin Vote For Me! is autobiographical:including a suddenly dead incumbent, athree-way special election, blood-suckingconsultants, drunken domino players,opinionated drug dealers, a midget fieldoperative, a grocery-store headquarters,a conga drum campaign bus, a raucousdebate, outdoor salsa rallies, and fistfightsover the posters. In addition, half theactors in the movie were volunteers inmy campaign…including my campaignmanager, my treasurer, and my mother.”The character of Leo Machuchal isbased on two much-adored charactersin Puerto Rican folklore and on LeoRodriguez, a former employee of Denis’sassembly office. “I had to fire Leo whenhe beat up a local drug dealer,” Denis said,Nelson Denis ’72 talks with actors in his movie, Vote For Me! MICHELLE V. AGINS/THE NEW YORK TIMES“and the drug dealer filed a complaintagainst my office. Leo was 72 years old.”The greatest shock during their fourweekshoot, Denis said, was not themovie itself. “It was the anxious phonecalls from Congressman Charlie Rangel’soffice, demanding to know ‘Who is thisLeo Machuchal and why are you supportinghim against me?’”All humor aside, said Denis, thecongressman should be worried. “Ageneration of Leo Machuchals wouldrevolutionize our government, andchange the way we live. I hope my moviehelps it happen.”A graduate of Harvard University andYale Law School, Denis also ran a freelegal clinic in El Barrio for several years.He won national journalism awards as theeditorial writer for New York’s El Diario/La Prensa. Born in Washington Heightsof Puerto Rican parents, Nelson told theDaily News he “wanted to communicateto the Latino population that becoming aleader is accessible to any of us.” He isrunning for office again this fall.Taft Bulletin Summer 20045

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHTNorcott Receives Law Day AwardConnecticut Supreme Court AssociateJustice Flemming L. Norcott Jr. ’61 wasamong 20 African-Americans honored inMay by the Connecticut Supreme Court.“Every year during Law Day, theConnecticut Supreme Court recognizesa group of individuals who epitomizeour great heritage of liberty, justice andequality under the law,” Chief JusticeWilliam J. Sullivan said. “The LawDay 2004 theme is the landmark U.S.Supreme Court case of Brown v. Boardof Education, which celebrated its 50thanniversary in May. In connection withthe theme, the Supreme Court chose tohonor these 20 distinguished individuals,who exemplify the legacy of theBrown decision through their notableachievements in Connecticut.”Justice Norcott received hisbachelor’s and juris doctorate degreesfrom Columbia University. He wasnominated to the Connecticut SuperiorCourt in 1979 and remained there untilhis appointment to the ConnecticutAppellate Court in 1987—the first timean African-American had been appointedto the Appellate Court. In 1992he was elevated to his current positionas associate justice of the ConnecticutSupreme Court.He received honorary LL.D. degreesfrom the University of New Haven in1993, from the University of New Havenin 1993, and from Albertus MagnusCollege in 2004.Upon his graduation from ColumbiaLaw, Justice Norcott worked as aPeace Corps volunteer in Nairobi, Kenya,where he was a lecturer in the faculty oflaw at the University of East Africa. Hethen served on the Bedford StuyvesantRestoration Corporations legal staff inNew York City and later as an assistantattorney general in the United StatesVirgin Islands. He was the co-founderand executive director of the Center forAdvocacy, Research and Planning in NewHaven. Prior to his appointment to thebench, he also served as a hearing examinerfor the Commission on HumanRights and Opportunities. He currentlyserves as a lecturer at Yale College.Defending Human RightsTamaryn Nelson ’96 is a program associatefor Latin America and theCaribbean with Witness, a pioneer inthe use of video to fight for humanrights and rooted in the idea that apicture is worth a thousand words(www.witness.org). Founded in 1992 bymusician Peter Gabriel in partnershipwith Human Rights First (formerly theLawyers Committee for Human Rights)and the Reebok Foundation, Witnesshas worked with over 150 human rightsgroups in 50 countries by assisting themto use video cameras to expose injustice,right the wrongs, and end impunity forhuman rights violators.“What intrigued me about Witness,”says Nelson, “was its innovative approach Tamaryn Nelson ’96, right, on a trip toColombia reviewing footage for a video toshow Congress.to human rights advocacy. We empowerlocal activists to tell their stories to theworld and then make their voices heardin places where they otherwise wouldprobably go unnoticed. By using visualimagery as a way to put a face on humanrights, people remember that we are lookingat human lives and not just a stack ofstatistical reports or case files.”Witness uses video as a complementarytool to human rights campaigns andadvocacy strategies, as evidence in courtcases, to make an appeal to the media, asan empowerment and mobilizing toolin communities, and to make a case toregional or international organizations,such as the United Nations.“I have always been involved in publicservice,” says Nelson, who received theschool’s Non Ut Sibi Award at her graduation,“and combining it with the arts.6 Taft Bulletin Summer 2004

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHTFinancing Afghan EntrepreneursJonathan Griswold ’94 moved toAfghanistan just over a year ago to be thedirector of the Foundation for InternationalCommunity Assistance there.FINCA is one of several organizationsthat provide credit programs to womenentrepreneurs and working mothers. In2002, FINCA programs lent nearly $135million directly to subsistence-level entrepreneursin Central America, Africa,and Eastern Europe, with a 97 percentrepayment rate.Griswold worked in the northwesternprovince of Herat, where there arestreetlights and electricity, but said thatmost of FINCA’s clients live in rural,mountainous areas, where such amenitiesare unheard of and the roads are oftenbad. FINCA employs female credit officersto meet the women in their villages,but finding suitable help is a challenge,Griswold told the Washington Times.“It’s hard to get the skills you wantin a country where so few have had anyIt’s not easy to go into nonprofitwork—especially when you leave collegewith lots of debt—but it’s possibleif you are willing to sacrifice somethings. I can tell you it’s hard to juggle.”A native Brazilian, Nelson lovesLatin America and feels privileged towork closely with activists on thefrontlines. Based in New York City,she recently spent time in Colombiaand Mexico.Nelson has previously worked forthe Inter-American Coalition for thePrevention of Violence (IACPV) andthe Center for Justice and InternationalLaw (CEJIL). She has a degree in internationalrelations from the Schoolof Foreign Service at GeorgetownUniversity. She speaks fluent Portuguese,English, and Spanish and isproficient in French.Jonathan Griswold ’94 in Afghanistan works to provide credit programs to womenentrepreneurs and working mothers.access to school, let alone informationtechnology or accounting training,” hesaid. “Many women want desperatelyto start their own careers but must stillfinish school, do all the domestic work,and sometimes overcome the resistanceof male relatives.”Griswold began his work withFINCA when they asked him to managetheir loan portfolio in southernAzerbaijan back in 2002. He had beeninterning with Save the Children inAzerbaijan for the previous six monthsat their micro finance program.“I had always been interested in thedeveloping world and wanted to use mymodest business experience in a moreexciting place to help poor people.When FINCA asked me to start up theAfghanistan program in August 2003,there probably weren’t too many peopleinterested in the job.”Griswold said he had few expectations;the few he did were either aboutthe developing world in general (bothpoorer and more resilient than he expected)and nongovernmental operations(many of whose contributions made himskeptical about humanitarian agencies).“Afghanistan is a land of extremes,”he said, “and also a hopelessly romanticplace. Few places on earth have beenso lightly touched by time as many ofits remote villages. Few places are sodifferent from America. The peoplehave an amazing and deep tradition ofcourtesy, and the poorest family willaccord a foreigner an embarrassing displayof hospitality.”At the same time, Griswold said hehas found that Afghanis are often fiercelyproud and independent, and tribal traditionsare often observed far morestrictly than Islamic teaching.“Most of what has been taken forIslamic extremism in Afghanistan (abuseof women, distrust of foreign influence,factional feuds) is backward tribalismclothed in a misapplication of Islam.“It’s an amazing and exhaustingplace that gets under your skin and defiestidy summary,” he said.Griswold left the Afghan steppe inJune to make his way back to U.S. viaBaku, Turkey, Zurich, and Paris. He iscurrently living in Washington, D.C.Taft Bulletin Summer 20047

PETER FINGERALUMNI SPOTLIGHTJamie Better ’79 voted Alumni TrusteeJamie Better was this year’s pick in the annual election of alumni trustee,as announced at the Alumni Day luncheon in May. Jamie earned a B.A.from Williams College, where he majored in political science, and anM.B.A. from Stanford, along with a certificate in public management.Following business school, Jamie spent five years as a managementconsultant with McKinsey & Company. In 1993, Jamie joined CapricornHoldings, a private equity investment firm in Greenwich,Connecticut. Two years later, Jamie became one of Capricorn’s four generalpartners. Today, Jamie also serves as the president and chief executiveofficer of Whitestone Corp., a Capricorn portfolio company involvedin the manufacture and sale of disposable medical products.Jamie and his wife Nancy live in Greenwich with their three children:David, Charlie, and Sarah. Jamie serves on the board of directorsof the Greenwich YMCA and is a former board member of the FairfieldCounty chapter of YPO (the Young Presidents’ Organization). He is atrustee of the Washington Institute for Near East Studies, a WashingtonD.C.-based think tank, focused on Middle East policy issues. Inhis free time, Jamie enjoys coaching and playing hockey, as well asgolfing and skiing.Other members of the school’s board of trustees chosen by alumniballot are Roger Lee ’90, Rosilyn Ford ’80, and David Coit ’65. Eachserves a four-year term.IN PRINTSocial SkewerThe Right Addressby Carrie DoyleKarasyov ’90 andJill KopelmanKargman ’92 isthe latest book ina new genre theNew York Timescalled “gossip lit,”following thepopular Bergdorf Blondes, The NannyDiaries, and The Devil Wears Prada.“Their novel skewers a certain kindof woman found on the Upper EastSide,” the Times wrote, “whose onlyambition is to preside over benefitdinners…and to have her tiny, shinyfacephotograph appear in the partypages of any magazine.”In The Right Address, a socialclimbingflight attendant is catapultedinto Park Avenue society, where, theywrite, hiring the wrong decorator is tantamountto social suicide. She quicklydiscovers that in the world of the richand idle, malicious gossip is as de rigueuris as owning 20 pairs of Manolo Blahniks.“This is not a book we’re spending10 years writing” Karasyov told theTimes. “Our book is what you readbetween oiling up and then hoppingback into the pool.”Taking the title one step farther,the Times followed up with an articleabout Kargman’s own search for the rightaddress: “In a White-Glove ZIP, A WalkupPerspective.” She says her building’shistory has plenty of stories of its own.Kargman and Karasyov, who workedtogether on the screenplay for Intern[Winter 2000], are collaborating onanother novel that features “a slightlyyounger crowd of equally obnoxiouspaparazzi-courting New Yorkers.”8 Taft Bulletin Summer 2004

AROUND THE PONDpondKind, Firm MolderDormitory wins Traditional Building awardThe John L. Vogelstein ’52 Dormitory,designed by Robert A.M. Stern architects,received Traditional Building’s2004 Palladio Award for new design andconstruction over $2 million. The Awardswere announced in April and presentedat the Restoration and RenovationConference and Exhibit in Boston.The Palladio Awards are named inhonor of Andrea Palladio, the Renaissancearchitect who created modernarchitecture for his time while usingmodels from the past for inspirationand guidance.“Walking on the campus of the TaftSchool in Watertown, Connecticut,”Traditional Building wrote, “one wouldn’tknow that the John L. Vogelstein ’52Dormitory is new. Integrated with theoriginal single-building campus, and connectedto the 1929 Charles Phelps TaftHall, the residence hall is a landmark ofsympathetic new construction.”continued on next page—VICKERS AND BEECHLERTaft Bulletin Summer 20049

AROUND THE POND—continued from previous pageThe article about the dormitoryand its award, “Combining Innovationwith Tradition” in the May/June issue(www.traditional-building.com) goeson to praise the school as a “faithfulsteward of their architectural heritage.”Architect Robert Stern says their maingoal was always to meet the school’s programmaticrequirements, but “also tocarry forward the language that the schoolhas had since Goodhue and Rogers.”Bertram Goodhue, perhaps bestknown for the Los Angeles PublicLibrary and the Nebraska State Capitol,was the architect Horace Taft selectedwhen it came time to build his schoolin earnest, starting in 1912 with whatis now known as Horace Dutton TaftHall (HDT), which Goodhue designedin an Arts and Crafts Gothic style.Taft later hired James Gamble Rogers,who designed Yale’s Memorial Quadrangleand Sterling Memorial Library as well asthe Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Centerand Columbia’s Butler Library, to createa new campus plan in the 1920s that includedCharles Phelps Taft Hall (CPT),McIntosh House, and Congdon House(as well as a chapel that was never built).Although connected to HDT, the “newbuilding,” as CPT was known for manyyears, is more collegiate Gothic in style.Will Miller ’74, chairman of theschool’s board of trustees and a key figurein the school’s long-range planning forthe last 20 years, said at the dormitory’sdedication [Fall 2002] that the “buildingsare harmonious with one another,yet distinct in…details, creating…a dialoguebetween two voices speaking thesame language with different accents….Our strategy,” Miller said, “has been topursue a diversity of interpretations of astyle, rather than a diversity of styles.”To connect the 30,000-square-footdormitory to Rogers’ 1929 structure, Sternchose to use a bridge-topped cloister.Placing the new building perpendicularto CPT also created a new quadrangle.“Any good building,” Stern told TraditionalBuilding, “has the capacity not onlyto solve a problem within itself, but alsoto create new opportunities.”Some of the challenges, Stern said,“included building a dormitory thatprovided privacy but wasn’t an ironfortress…. Each student has a privateroom, but the possible connection toanother fosters sociability. The roomsoffer more privacy than 1920s dorms.”At the dedication, Miller also quotedWinston Churchill when he said, “First weshape our buildings. Thereafter, they shapeus.” This mold seems to be a fine one.Collegium Sings at NewYork’s St. John the DivineCollegium Musicum followed up their March tourto San Francisco with a performance on April 18in the world’s largest Gothic cathedral—New YorkCity’s St. John the Divine. Under former cathedralchoral director Bruce Fifer’s direction, Collegiumsang a varied concert organized in four parts: Musicfor a Great Space, Songs of Freedom, Songs ofthe Sea, and Music of the Americas.Roughly 50 students are chosen by auditioneach year to perform with Collegium. Their repertoirespans nearly every major period of musicfrom medieval to contemporary, and their vocalstyle encompasses selections from Gregorian chantto James Taylor. Previous trips have taken thegroup to China, Spain, Great Britain, Australia,and New Zealand.PETER FREW ’7510Taft Bulletin Summer 2004

AROUND THE PONDStudents of Japanese Receive Top National HonorsOf the 24 students currently takingJapanese classes at Taft, five have beenaccepted to programs that will take themto Japan this summer. In particular, JonAcquaviva ’04 and Malcolm Munkittrick’05 have both received full scholarshipsfrom nationally renowned programs.Acquaviva was accepted to the HighSchool Diplomas Program at PrincetonUniversity last year, and this summer wasselected through the same program to bea representative of the U.S. in Japan,studying and traveling for six weeks onthat full scholarship.Munkittrick received a scholarship withYouth for Understanding, whose missionis to “prepare young people for their responsibilitiesand opportunities in a changing,interdependent world.” This highly competitiveprogram takes American studentsto Japan for five weeks. He is Connecticut’sonly recipient of the Japan-AmericanFriendship Scholarship this year.Last summer Ian Donahue ’05 successfullycompleted the FALCONlanguage program at Cornell University.The youngest member at the program,Ian studied Japanese intensively at thecollege level for nine weeks, entering ourprogram at the third-year level.Hammering for HabitatSeventeen students along with facultymembers Baba and Peter Frew ’75 andMike Aroesty headed south to work ona Habitat for Humanity build on JohnsIsland, South Carolina, for a week in March.“Every morning, at 8:30 on the dot,we met with a variety of college groups,homeowners, volunteers, and contractors,”said Baba Frew, who heads theVolunteer Program at Taft, “to divvy upthe jobs for the day. We found ourselvesdoing everything from backfilling to Andrew Parks ’06 working for Habitat forHumanity over spring break. PETER FREW ’75Derek Chan ’06 and VanessaKwong ’06 were both accepted intothe Experiment in International Livingprogram, through which they willlive and study in Japan for five weeksthis summer. Kwong advanced fromfirst- to third-year Japanese this year,roofing, with a lot of hammering everywhereyou looked.”Every afternoon the group returnedexhausted and aching to Kiawah Island,where they were hosted by Kathy andSteve Parks (parents of Kate ’05, Andrew’06, and Clare ’08). When they weren’tworking, they found time to go intoCharleston, tour the old city, head outto Fort Sumter, and even do a ghost tour.“We are very pleased,” Frewadded, “to have had the opportunityto establish what we hope will be along-term liaison with the Sea IslandHabitat for Humanity Affiliate.”and Chan will jump into the fourthyearlevel next year.“Despite its small numbers,” saysJapanese teacher Russell Wasden, “I believethe Japanese program here is provingto be one of the most dynamic academicopportunities for students at Taft.”Scholars of Japanese Derek Chan ’06, Ian Donahue ’05, Jon Acquaviva ’04, VanessaKwong ’06, and Malcolm Munkittrick ’05 and teacher Russ Wasden, left. PETER FREW ’75Taft Bulletin Summer 200411

AROUND THE PONDJuried Student Art ExhibitionSAMUEL DANGREMOND ’05his pastel painting. Nicole Miller ofLewis S. Mills High School was awardedfirst prize in three-dimensional workfor her ceramic sculpture, and HelenaPihl of Kent School was awarded secondprize for her earthenware sculpturecalled “Language Buddha.”“I’m impressed with the quality ofwork,” said Marie Peterson, whosedaughter Annie is a junior at WestoverSchool and had a work of mixed photographyon display. “This is such abeautiful space.”The response to the show was verypositive, said coordinator ClaudiaBlack, who teaches studio art at Taft.“Our students have been so excited tosee work from other schools. It’s beenreally worth it.”ROGER KIRKPATRICK ’06Over 250 public and independentschools across Connecticut were eachinvited to enter student artwork for ajuried exhibit this spring in the MarkPotter ’48 Gallery.“There has been considerable discussionsince the opening of the PotterGallery about how best to use this beautifulspace,” said gallery director LouetaChickadaunce. “One idea was to hold astudent competition with other highschools, so that young artists from allover Connecticut could have a chanceto see each other’s work and to presentthat work to professional artists andteachers other than those in their classroomsand studios.”The first of such competitions washeld this spring. Each school contactedwas invited to enter up to six studentworks, and judges decided whichpieces would be included in the exhibit.Amy Noonan, a senior at Canton HighSchool, had four pieces in the show. Noone else from her school was interestedin submitting work, so she sent all six.“It was a nice surprise to see them here,quite an honor,” she said.The judges, who also selected theprize winners, were Mark Aronson, chiefconservator of Yale University Art Gallery;artist Megan Craig ’93, a teacher atRhode Island School of Design, ParsonsSchool of Design, and Eugene LangCollege; and Nicholas Dawson, architectand sculptor and the chair of PhillipsExeter Academy’s Art Department.Prizes were awarded to the artists oftwo two-dimensional works, and of twothree-dimensional works.Recognized students in the first groupwere Jessica Hines of Fairfield High Schoolfor her “Self Portrait” collage and GregoryPerson of Lewis S. Mills High School forCoach of the YearMike Maher was named theConnecticut Hockey Coach of theYear by the Connecticut OfficialsAssociation. Maher, who leavesthis year to become the new headof the Berkshire School, has an18-year record of 224–142–18.12Taft Bulletin Summer 2004

Engineering Part ISixteen Taft students competed in the14th annual Boston University EngineeringDesign Challenge. Competing inteams of two, students build a vehiclepowered by two AA batteries that willmove down a six-foot track as a competitormoves in the opposite direction,deposit a hackey sack in a hole, and returnin under 15 seconds.“Points are awarded for different aspectsof the race,” explained adviser JimEngineering Part IITwo varsity and two JV teams traveled tothe annual Junior Engineering TechnicalSociety competition at the University ofNew Haven in March. The varsity-oneteam placed first in its division, andthe JV-one team tied for second in itsdivision. All together, 32 Taft studentsparticipated in JETS this year.The competition started with nearly1,500 teams overall. For teams that passMooney, “but the idea is to get your sackin the hole first but then to delay your returnso that you come back as close to 15seconds as possible without going over.”The teams of Eugene Young andWilson Yu, Nathan Chuang and ZernyuChou, and Samantha Glazer andSpencer Barton made the semifinals—the top 16 of the 90 total after fourrounds. Spencer and Sammy made thefinals and ended up in fifth place.the scoring threshold, the second part ofthe test is forwarded to Washington,where it will be graded as part of thenational competition.“The two teams that advanced to thenationals did well,” said adviser JimMooney, “with the varsity team placing12th in the nation in their division of selectiveadmission schools. Their preliminaryscore was the highest in Connecticut.”Frisbee GolfThe sport may not be new, but thepassion with which students pursuedit around campus this springwas. For those who graduated fromcollege—say—before 1980, imaginea course of 18 predeterminedlandmarks or “holes,” which youmust hit in order with a Frisbee,in the least number of throws.Hazards, including the pond, movingvehicles, and errant dogs whothought the Frisbee was for themdid little to discourage the studentsand faculty alike who came out indroves to play. Seeing two, four, oreven eight Frisbees cascading overthe playing fields as “golfers”moved from hole to hole was acommon sight, even on blustery,cold days. The windows of theHeadmaster’s Conference Room gotpinged hourly as not all participantscould control their shots. Passionsintensified with the announcementof a tournament—replete withT-shirts—organized by teachersMatt Blanton and Jay Tandon.Upper mids Jamie Wheeler andRenier Van Breen took the title.Varsity participants were seniorsSupriya Balsekar, Jeff Fielding, VietHoang, Nate Kuslis, Chris Kwok,Jason Lee, Chanatip Metheetrairut, andWan Ling Yih on team one, and seniorsMichael Woon, Simon Kim, TuckerMarrison, Lauren Malaspina, andJoseph Mastrocola, and upper middlersAvery Clark, Matt Davis, and Joel Yuon team two.Taft Bulletin Summer 200413

AROUND THE PONDTrees Dedicated in Memory of AIDS VictimsPETER FREW ’75In celebration of Earth Daythis spring, students plantedtwo maple trees in memoryof Russell Pais ’69 and Albertd’Ossche ’66, both of whomdied of AIDS. To a gatheringof faculty and students on asunny April afternoon, ChaplainMichael Spencer offereda prayer, Choral DirectorBruce Fifer and CollegiumMusicum sang “The Gardenof My Lord,” and SeniorLindsay Gael read a poemby Thoreau. “The two treesstand and will grow,” saidSpencer, “as part of our commemorationof the earth andthe life which we are blessedto share together.” Two moretrees were planted at the sametime to celebrate Earth Day.Science Department Hosts LecturesRuth Malins, director of theHousatonic Valley AssociationResource Center, spoke in LaubeAuditorium in May about the river’srecent designation as one of the topten most endangered rivers in theUnited States and about what is beingdone to solve the problem. Studentsin Dave Griffith’s Explorations ofWater elective and Jim Lehner’s A.P.Environmental Science class attended.“We all hold a place in theHousatonic Watershed,” notesGriffith. “Potter’s Pond and ourstreams on campus eventually draininto the Housatonic River, and all ofthe water we use at Taft is pulled fromthe Housatonic Watershed.”The department also hosted theConnecticut Valley IndependentSchool Science Teachers Associationfor its semiannual meeting. Guestlecturer Sandra Anagnostakis, one ofthe world’s leading experts on the fungusaffecting the American chestnuttree, spoke on current efforts to producea blight-resistant hybrid. Ruth Malins spoke with science studentsabout the future of the HousatonicRiver. PETER FREW ’7514Taft Bulletin Summer 2004

AROUND THE PONDA League of Their OwnMost evenings this spring, the dininghall would clear out by 6 as peopleraced to find their gloves and baseballhats. Nearly 150 students and 37 facultySoftball “Commish” Mike Aroesty says he made sure to include highlights from eachgame in his e-mail write-ups because students especially seemed to enjoy them.PETER FREW ’75signed up to play in a newly organizedsoftball league that captured the interestof the entire school.“When I started the league,” saidteaching fellow Mike Aroesty, “I washoping for enough people to field sixteams. In two days we had enough for14. The hardest part for me was creatinga schedule for so many teams,” whoadopted names such as the FightingDandelions, Reckless Endangerment,and the China Stars. Participating facultydivided into two groups: the MainHallers and the Wu Train Clan.“I am not quite sure why I tookthis on,” said Aroesty, “except that Ithink students and faculty go throughtheir days so busy that they don’t evenget to enjoy the good weather. I enjoyit just as much if not more than thekids, so it’s fun for me to be out there.”Team PG-15 overcame the favoredTeam Ram-Rod 10 to 15 in thefinal game.Women March in D.C.Thirty-seven students journeyed toWashington in April to join more than amillion other marchers on the NationalMall in a call to government leaders andlawmakers not to intrude on a woman’sright to access critical reproductive healthservices and make deeply personal decisionsabout her health and life.The March for Women’s Liveswas led by seven organizing groups:American Civil Liberties Union, BlackWomen’s Health Imperative, FeministMajority, NARAL Pro-Choice America,National Latina Institute for ReproductiveHealth, National Organizationfor Women, and Planned ParenthoodFederation of America.Delegations from around the worldwere addressed by Ashley Judd, MadeleineAlbright, Delores Huerta, and DorothyHeight among others.PHOTO COURTESY OF THE TAFT PAPYRUSTaft Bulletin Summer 200415

AROUND THE PONDIn BriefPoetTony Abbott, published poet andnovelist and professor of English atDavidson College, visited the schoolin May. He gave an evening readingof both poetry and prose in theWoolworth Faculty Room andvisited English classes the next day.The Winner of the 2003 NovelloLiterary Award for his first novel,Leaving Maggie Hope, this wasAbbott’s second visit to Taft.The SopranoMezzo-soprano Lauren Malaspina ’04won the Connecticut Choral Society’sKannengeiser Scholarship. For theCCS concert in May she sang Handel’sCare Selve and Mio Care Bene! She receivedthe school’s George MorganAward for choral music at graduation.Lauren was the only student from Taftwho moved up from the ConnecticutNorthern Regional music competitionand festival to the All StateFestival in late March.PETER FINGERIn the GalleryArtist John R. Whitton Bria ’69 exhibitednearly three dozen still lifesand landscapes in the Mark PotterGallery in May. Choosing mostlyworks in oil painted in the last yearor two, Bria clearly displays his admirationfor the beauty of upstateNew York. He lives in Pound Ridgewith his wife Kris.Upper-Mid AwardsHarvard Book PrizeTania GiannoneDartmouth Book PrizeMatthew DavisHoly Cross College Book AwardPete WymanSmith Book AwardLiz McMorrisBrown University AwardKelin HallHamilton College PrizeChris LacariaBausch and LombHonorary Science AwardTania Giannoneand Chris LacariaRensselaer Polytechnic Institute MedalJessica LeeSAMUEL DANGREMOND ’05Seen on CampusJackie Rosa ’82 visited campus in May toconduct interviews for Morgan Stanley’spaid summer internship program for studentsof color. Rosa, above center withDoug Moses ’06, is vice president for GlobalDiversity and Work-Life Programs anda former A Better Chance scholar at Taft.Five Taft students received internships.Also, on campus, Sam Bloom ’84, aprofessor of French in Haifa, Israel, spokeat School Meeting in May about his experiencesliving and teaching overseas.16Taft Bulletin Summer 2004

AROUND THE PONDA Little SambaUniversity of Rochester Award inthe Humanities and Social SciencesChris LacariaJohn T. Reardon Prizein United States HistoryPeter WymanDavid Edward GoldbergMemorial AwardKristine SpechtMichaels Jewelers Citizenship AwardPaul SorokinPETER FREW ’75Flutist Sergio Pallottelli and guitarist JoséManuel Lezcano performed “A LittleSamba Music” in Walker Hall in earlyApril. “The concert had a unique mix ofItalian solo repertoire as well as LatinAmerican music with a bit of WesternEuropean influence,” said instrumentalmusic director T.J. Thompson. “Themost amazing thing was how effortlessthe performance was. What they performedwas incredibly hard, but seemedso easy when watching that no one wouldever know it.”Cuban-born Lezcano has receivedmany awards, including a Fulbright toteach, perform, and research indigenousguitar traditions in Ecuador. He has performedat Carnegie Hall as well as inmajor festivals in Rio, Lima, and Quito,and is a professor of music at Keene[N.H.] State College.Pallottelli has performed internationally,as principal flute, with theSinfônica do Orquestra Estado de SãoPaulo, Brazil; Rotary Club InternationalOrchestra; Utah Philharmonia;Waterbury Symphony; New BritainSymphony; and Yale Philharmonia. Forfour years he was a member of theCanyonlands New Music Ensemble. Anactive chamber and orchestral musicianwho tours the world, he is also the adjunctflute instructor at Taft.“He is absolutely amazing and weare lucky to have him,” says Thompson.MatriculationsThe following eleven schools werethe most popular choices for graduatesfrom the Class of ’04. Althoughnumbers may change, at press timefour or more students chose to attendeach of these colleges anduniversities:Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges 7Cornell University 6Middlebury College 6Boston University 5Colby College 5Brown University 4Bowdoin College 4Georgetown University 4Tulane University 4University of Wisconsin at Madison 4Yale University 4Departing facultyMatt Blanton, mathematicsAmory Bradley, English fellowEllen Brown, science fellowJessica Clark ’94, scienceLaura Erickson, scienceDavid Griffith, scienceDana Hardy, scienceTyler Hardy, historyMike Harney, mathematicsIrene Jenkins, philosophy &religion fellowBrian Kirby, historyCheryl Larson, mathematicsAlyson Lyndquist, history fellowMolly MacKean, historyJean Woodward Maher,Spanish, admissionsMike Maher, dean of students,historyCharlie McNair, physicianJuan Ortiz, SpanishDaniel Sheff, SpanishGarrison Smith, scienceChip Spencer ’56, developmentJason Tandon, EnglishJonnifer Vasse, FrenchChinese teacher Yen-Lung Liu hasbeen granted a year’s sabbatical leave.Taft Bulletin Summer 200417

S P O R TsportSpring highlightsBy Steve PalmerGirls’ Lacrosse 11–3The team finished the season ranked4th in New England behind convincingvictories over Deerfield (13–10) andAndover (19–8). Forward TuckerMarrison ’04 was a League All Star,while Molly Davidson ’05 and KatherineSimmons ’04 were named to theMatt Smith ’04 battles a Salisbury defender—a classic moment in the rivalry betweentwo of New England’s best lacrosse teams PETER FREW ’75Liz Nelson ’06 breaks through two NMHgirls. PETER FREW ’75Western New England All-Star Team.Simmons led the team in scoring, assists,and ground balls—a deserving winner ofthe Wandelt Lacrosse Award in a yearwith the most girls playing interscholasticlacrosse in the school’s history.Boys’ Lacrosse 10–3Founders League ChampionsThe season ended in stirring fashion forthis strong team that had some inconsistentgames early on. Their powerful 9–5win over league-leader Hotchkiss securedthe Founders League title and againshowed that Taft has one of the best programsin the highly competitive NewEngland ranks. Seniors Todd Johnson(defense), Nick Smith (Odden Awardwinner, midfield), and James Cabrera(attack) were dominant at their positionsand were named Founders League AllStars, along with Rory Shepard andAustin Gardner-Smith.18Taft Bulletin Summer 2004

S P O R TReid Longley ’06, who won the KingswoodInvitational, shot a 73 at the FoundersLeague, finishing as the individual medalistand setting the team up for a secondplace finish. PETER FREW ’75Golf 18–0It was a remarkable undefeated seasonfor the golf team, highlighted by convincingwins over league championKingswood (397–407) and New Englandchampion Brunswick (5–1 match play).Joel St. Laurent ’04 led the team with a75.5 season-scoring average, while ReidLongley ’06 set up their 2nd place finishin the Founders League Tournament asthe individual medalist, shooting a 73.Under two-year captain and upper midAndrew Foote’s guidance, the team hasa 28–3 record, and the trend shouldcontinue next year with 6 of the 7 letterwinners returning.Boys’ Track 7–5The team finished 4th at the FoundersLeague Meet, 7th at New Englands, anddefeated Division III champ Kingswoodon the way to a winning record. In thejavelin, shot put, and discus, Taftoutscored their opponents 161–67 duringthe season, placed two throwers intothe finals of each event at the N.E.meet—the only school to do so—andbecame the first school to sweep allthree throwing events at the DeerfieldRelays. Senior Tyler Whitley was the NewEngland champion in the javelin, andCamden Bucsko ’04 placed in the shot(5th with 49'5") and discus (2nd with144') for the third year in a row.Girls’ Track 8–2Founders League ChampionsThe girls’ team won its 2nd league titlein three years and finished 3rd at the N.E.meet, just 15 points behind championExeter. By the end of the season, the teamhad set seven school records (100 meters12.5; 200 meters 25.8; 110 High Hurdles15.8; Long Jump 17'6"; High Jump 5'4";Triple Jump 34'6"; 4x100-meter relay50.9). Returning upper-mid record settersTracy Dishongh, Tamara Sinclair,Tania Giannone, and middler TaylorBodnar will lead a very strong team againnext year. Senior captain Katie McCabefinished her career with school recordsin three events and placed in all four ofher events at the N.E. meet.Boys’ Tennis 12–1SNETL ChampionsThe boys’ team posted its best record inover 20 years, cruising past Hotchkiss,Deerfield, and undefeated Avon to winthe league title. Will Minter ’06 (1stsingles), Will Karnasiewicz ’05 (2nd), andJulius Scheifele ’05 (3rd) were all leagueCo-captain Sha-kayla Crockett ’05 nails a landing in the long jump. ROGER KIRKPATRICK ’05Captain-elect Pete Wyman ’05 volleys behinddoubles partner Julius Scheifele ’05.PETER FREW ’75Taft Bulletin Summer 2004 19

S P O R Tchampions with 11–2 records, betteredonly by league champion senior DanKennedy’s 12–1 record at number 4singles. The doubles teams of ChrisCarlson ’04 and Minter, Karnasiewiczand Kennedy, and Peter Wyman ’05 andScheifele had a combined 30–6 record.Girls’ Tennis 6–6Having graduated seven of ten varsityplayers last year, the girls regrouped behindthe 7–0 league record of upper midLindsay Littlejohn at number 2 singlesand middler Annie McGillicuddy’s steadyplay in the number one slot. SeniorBettina Scott was named a League AllStar, playing first doubles with MercerWu ’05. The team enjoyed narrow victoriesover Kent, Kingswood, and Porterson the way to a 5–2 league record.Softball 5–7There were many close games in this solidseason, including wins over NMH,Westminster and Hotchkiss. FoundersLeague All Star Abbey Cecchinato ’05compiled 109 strikeouts, pitched everysingle inning for the entire season, andled the team in RBIs. Center fielderJessica Lee ’05 (0 errors) led the teamin hits. This squad graduates only onesenior and will look to contend for theleague title next year.Jake Erickson ’05 (.350 batting averageand League All Star), Hunter Serenbetz’06 (pitcher, first base) and JohnMcDonald ’05 (most innings pitched).Girls’ Crew 7–4Alumnae Cup WinnersFor the first time ever, the girls’ team putthree boats into the Grand Finals at theNew England Regatta, and the third boatnearly took it all, placing 2nd to Groton.With this fine showing, Coach MichaelSpencer’s squad was ranked 4th in all ofNew England, the highest ever. With 16new members starting in late March,the progress and success of this teamwas remarkable. Three devoted seniorsanchored this powerful crew: FionaMcFarland (Navy), Johanna Pistell(Wisconsin) and Lucy Piacenza (Bates)will all continue their careers at strongcollege programs.Boys’ Crew 10–2Dupont Cup WinnersThe first boat finished 3rd at theFounders League race, losing by only onesecond to rival Gunnery. The crew ofAlex Bisset ’04, Justin Martin ’04, CharlieStaub ’05, Patrick Coleman ’05, andKierstin Nagle ’04 came back with a stirring4th place finish at the New Englandfinals, the first time a Taft boat has madeit to the Grand Finals in that regatta.The 2nd and 3rd boats also peaked forthe final New England race, defeatingstrong teams from Choate and Gunnery.Seniors Will Shiverick (3 years) andBisset (4 years) have been central to thisprogram that grows stronger with everyseason. The first boat also set a newcourse record (5:15.0) on Bantam Lakein its win over Berkshire. Seniors Justin Martin, Alex Bisset, andGray Bigler, part of the record-setting firstboat this season. PETER FREW ’75Baseball 8–9It was a streaky season for the varsityteam, winning five in a row in late April,including wins over Hotchkiss, Loomisand Kent, before dropping below .500at the very end. The team was quiteyoung, but seniors Joe Mastracola(cleanup) and Keith Shattenkirk (leadingbatter .432 avg. 4 HR, 23 RBI)provided power at the plate, while JohnLockwood and Nick Young were effectiveon the mound. Key starters includedTom Piacenza ’06 (caught every game),20Taft Bulletin Summer 2004

ANNUAL FUND NEWSfundA N N U A LVolunteers Raise $2.8 millionOn behalf of the Development Office, itgives me great pleasure to announce thatthe 2004 Annual Fund has raised $2.8million in gifts and pledges, an increaseof over $170,000 from last year. I amdeeply grateful to all the alumni/ae,current parents, former parents, grandparents,and friends of Taft for theirgenerosity and loyalty.Forty percent of alumni raised overhalf of that total with $1.5 million.Thank you to all the class agents whoworked so hard this year to raise thesefunds. Special thanks and congratulationsgo to Class Agent Rocky Fawcett andthe 50th Reunion Class of ’54 forraising $194,405 for the Annual Fundand a grand total of $638,835 as a 50thReunion class gift.I would also like to recognize the followingclass agents for their extra effortsthis year. Woolly Bermingham and RossLegler have for the sixth year in a row ledthe Class of ’43 to 100 percent participation.A remarkable feat! BarnabyConrad, won the Romano Award forachieving a 33 percent increase in classparticipation for the Class of ’70. Alumniparticipation is our primary goal, and anincrease of this level is a tribute to thehard work of the class agent.My first year as Annual Fund chairhas been fulfilling. It is great fun to workwith a group of people that are passionateabout their cause and committed toa goal. The Taft Annual Fund is fueledby a group of inspired volunteers whodo a tremendous job of engaging theTaft community. I have been overwhelmedby the generosity anddedication of the extended Taft Family.Again, I thank you all and please have ahappy and safe summer.Sincerely,David F. Kirkpatrick ’89Annual Fund Director Jessica OnegliaTravelstead ’88 and 50th Reunion GiftChair Rocky Fawcett ’54 at the presentationof Class Agent Awards duringthe Alumni Day Luncheon in May.2004 Class Agent Awards*Snyder Award—Largest amountcontributed to the Annual Fund by areunion classClass of 1954: $194,405 AnnualFund, $638,835 totalClass Agent: Rocky FawcettChairman of the Board Award—Highest percent participation from aclass 50 years out or lessClass of 1960: 75%Class Agent: John MichaelsenMcCabe Award—Largest amountcontributed by a non-reunion classClass of 1978: $57,299Class Agent: John KerneyTaft Bulletin Summer 200421

ANNUAL FUND NEWSClass of 1920 Award—Greatest increasein dollars from a non-reunion classClass of 1987: $19,410Class Agent: Lucinda Goulard LordThe Romano Award—Greatestincrease in percentage support from anon-reunion class less than 50 years outClass of 1970: 69% from 36%Class Agent: Barnaby ConradYoung Alumni Dollars Award—Largest amount contributed from aclass less than 10 years outClass of 1995: $19,820Class Agents: Dan Oneglia& Tony PasquarielloYoung Alumni Participation Award—Highest participation from a class 10years out or lessClass of 2003: 68%Class Agents: Eliza Clark& Glenton DavisThe Spencer Award—Greatest numberof gifts from previous non-donorsClass of 1970: 14%Class Agent: Barnaby Conrad* Awards are determined by fundsraised as of June 30, 2004.Leslie and Angus Littlejohn P’03, ’05New Parents’ Fund Chairs Cindy and LarryBloch with Reisa ’05 and Matt ’05Parents’ Fund Raises $1.1 Million94 Percent of Parents ParticipateParents’ Fund Chairs Leslie and AngusLittlejohn are delighted to announce thatthe 2004 fund broke new records forgiving again this year.“This success is due in great part tothe Littlejohn’s leadership and untiringdedication,” said Headmaster WillyMacMullen ’78, “along with a loyalcommittee and of course the hundredsof parents who have given so much tothis great school.”Raising $1,106,791 from 94 percentof the current parent body made this year’sfund one of historic significance for Taftand for parent giving nationwide. For thefifth time in the past six years, over onemillion dollars has been raised by currentparents for the Annual Fund. Just asnotable is the 90-plus percent parent participationfor the 12th consecutive year.“A parent body that supports a schoolso unanimously,” said MacMullen, “speaksto the strong belief that academics mustremain strong, athletics competitive, andthe arts flourishing.”The Littlejohns, parents of Angus ’03and Lindsay ’05, have handed the reinsover to Cindy and Larry Bloch, currentmembers of the Parents’ Committee andparents of Reisa ’05 and Matt ’05.2003–04Parents’ CommitteeLeslie & Angus Littlejohn,ChairsLeslie & Samuel AcquavivaRosanne & Steve AndersonSandy BissetCindy & Larry BlochSusan & Don BrantSandi & Glenn BromagenVivian & Richard CastellanoLen Chazen & Linda RappaportHoward & Barbara CherryGail & Dan CiaburriPeg & John ClaghornPamela & Michael ClarkDonna & Chris ClearyKate & Dan CoitMary & David DangremondJohn DeardourffEmily & Steven EisenJulie & Michael FreemanPippa & Bob GerardDebbie & Vin GiannettoKaty & Tiger GrahamSusan & Chuck HarrisDavid HillmanLeslie & Herb IdeLisa IrelandPam & Michael JacksonLinda & Bill JacobsSally & Michael KarnasiewiczKathy & Tom KelleyKim & Dave KennedyMeg & Stuart KirkpatrickGinny & David KnottLaura & Dale KutnickJanet & Paul LewisCarol & John LydenBridget & John MacaskillMary & Joe MastrocolaK.T. & Alan McFarlandLinda & Clem McGillicuddyLynn & Mike McKennaClare & Howard McMorrisPatrick & Patricia McVeighKate & Hans MorrisHattie & Bill MulliganKathleen & Peter MurphyKenny & Gordon NelsonDebbie & Joe PetrowskiMandy & Adam QuintonRose-Lee & Keith ReinhardSera & Tom ReycraftAnn & James RickardsCarol & Bill SammonsLindsay & Edgar ScottSuzanne & Peter SealyJean & Stuart SerenbetzDebbie & Michael ShepherdCharlotte & Richard SmithMaria & Glenn TaylorPeggy & Joe ToceJane & Bill WatersSandra & Rick WebelAnn & Jack WeissPeter Wyman22 Taft Bulletin Summer 2004

Tell us what you think andyou could win a Taft chair!What do you think about your magazine? Take aminute to share your thoughts on the Taft Bulletin,and your name will be entered into a drawing towin a Taft chair. Please use the envelope providedto reply by September 30. Winners will be notifiedby mail. Thank you for participating.How long do you keep the Bulletin around forreading? One day One week One month LongerDo you ever pass the Bulletin on to other people? Yes NoHave you ever looked at issues of the magazine onthe web site (TaftAlumni.com)? Yes NoDo you find the length of feature stories: Too short Too long Just rightWhich kind of story are you most likely to read: Alumni Students Faculty Campus news Other_______________________________In one sentence, how would you describe thepurpose of the Taft Bulletin?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________Which sections do you read regularly?Please rank them in order of interest to you.Most interesting = 1:___ Annual Fund News___ Book notices (“Alumni in Print”)___ Campus news (“Around the Pond”)___ Class Notes___ Feature stories on campus news___ Feature stories on faculty___ Feature stories on groups of alumni___ Feature stories on individual alumni___ Feature stories on students___ From the archives___ From the editor___ Letters to the editor___ Milestones and obituaries___ Personal essays (“Endnote”)___ Season sports wrap-ups___ Short alumni profiles (“Alumni Spotlight”)Is there anything you would like to see more of inthe magazine?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Thank you.To be entered in the drawing, please fill out the information below:Please tell us something about yourself. (Check all that apply.)I am a: parent grandparent friend alumnus/a, Class of ____I am: male femaleName _________________________________________________________________________Address ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________E-mail address __________________________________________________________________(A postage-paid envelope can be found inside the front or back cover. Or, you can e-mail your responses✃ to us. Please follow the “Survey” links from www.TaftAlumni.com.)Taft Bulletin Summer 200423

AlumniDinnerwithSix restaurateurs talk about the rewards and challenges ofthe business and how they got there in the first place.By Julie ReiffJonathan Albert ’79Albert Brothers, Inc.Waterbury, ConnecticutAlbert Brothers is a fourth-generationcompany owned and operated by EricAlbert ’77 and Jonathan ’79. Foundedin 1895 by their great-grandfather andhis brother who had recently emigratedfrom Lithuania, it is the largest independentscrap metal processor in NewEngland today. Using the skills he’dlearned during ten years in Manhattanwith a real estate investment company,Jonathan began to diversify the familybusiness by starting a real estate companyand a food service company.Established with Jonathan’s closefriend and business associate whoJonathan Albert ’79, left, at the recent construction of a Burger King unit in Pécs, Hungary

Dinner withAlumnihad run the food and beverage operationsof the Hyatt hotel system, therestaurant operation began with theformation of a company headquarteredin Budapest, which acquiredthe exclusive developmentrights for Burger King inHungary and what was thenCzechoslovakia.“At the time westarted,” explains Jonathan,“the Berlin Wall had not yetfallen. There were considerable risks, includinga lack of infrastructure. Even thephone service was so poor that there weremany times it took days to complete oneconversation. Because we couldn’t ownreal estate we had to form a joint venturewith a hotel company to get the bestproperty on the market. In order to survive,the company had to establish itsown distribution company, local meatprocessing operation, salad preparationfacility, construction team, etc. We evenbrought seeds for iceberg lettuce in oursuitcases to grow our own lettuce locally.”While the business was well receivedin the local marketplace, building thecompany required a new business orientation,since one of the primary focalpoints under communism was maximizingthe workforce rather than profits.Today the company has a team of about500 people and 17 restaurants—includingthe largest Burger King in theworld—and has two new restaurantsunder development.“I have often been asked how weoperate a fast-food business when ourroots are in heavy manufacturing,”says Jonathan. “The fact is that theexperience is similar with high-volume,low-margin businesses, where money isonly made by watching every detail ofthe business. Our overriding principle,though, has always been a110-percent focus on thecustomer, and that is verytransferable.”As the business inEastern Europe stabilized,the team continued to workon other restaurant projectswith its operations center in Chicago.Operating under the Cornerstone RestaurantGroup, the two primary businessactivities include a management companythat develops and operates the foodand beverage operations within hotels.The company has worked with Hyatt andis involved with Starwood Hotels with afocus on the W hotel brand.Delmonico SteakIngredients per serving16-ounce ribeye steak3 sun-dried tomatos1/2 portobello mushroom1 rosemary spear8 ounces veal stock4 ounces balsamic vinegar1 clove garlic2 ounces grated ginger1 ounce chopped shallots6 ounces Yukon mashed potatoesThe company also works withMichael Jordan through a joint venturenamed Jump Higher that is responsiblefor developing, owning, and operatingrestaurants under the Michael Jordanbrand. The company has two restaurantsat Mohegan Sun in Connecticut—thehigh-end Michael Jordan’s Steak Houseand 23 Sport Café—a Michael Jordan’sSteak House in Manhattan’s GrandCentral Terminal, and one in Chicago.Jonathan says that anyone whoknows him will attest that Jordan did notchoose to partner with him based uponhis athletic talent. “As one can imagine,Michael sets extremely high standards,”he said, “which has assisted in ourcompany’s overall success. You are onlyas good as your last meal served.”The restaurant business is very riskywith many opportunities to fail every day,he adds. “Everything boils down to thequality of the team, the execution of allthe little details, and the overwhelmingcommitment to the customer.”To make the sauce, sweat the garlic, shallot, and ginger. Add balsamicvinegar and reduce to one third. Add the veal stock and reduce byhalf. Check seasonings and simmer for 30 minutes.Grill beef to your liking, and pipe the mashed potato at twelveo’clock on the plate. Place the steak under the potatoes centered.Nape the jus over the potatoes and steak.Marinate the mushroom in oil and salt and pepper and roast in theoven. Using the rosemary, layer the sun-dried tomatoes and mushroomscreating a skewer. Grill the skewer lightly and place it on top ofthe steak and potatoes.Taft Bulletin Summer 200425

Timothy Connors ’78MezcalDenver, ColoradoTim Connors ’78 is one of four partnerswho own Mezcal, a casual Mexican cantinathat opened in Denver last December.One may wonder why Connors, the ownerof a mortgage company, would chooseto get involved in the unpredictable, andsometimes risky, restaurant business. Theanswer is simple—go to a Pearl Jam concertwith a couple of buddies.Connors and Steve Cohen completedtheir undergraduate studies inVermont—Connors at the University ofVermont and Cohen at Middlebury—and have kept in touch over the years.They reconnected in Colorado a whileback, and Steve introduced Tim to JesseMorreale and Chris Swank, local concertpromoters and co-owners of a popularDenver nightclub.Not long ago, Connors, Cohen, andMorreale went to a Pearl Jam concert. “Atsome point during the evening we decidedwe should all go into businesstogether,” says Connors. “We thought arestaurant might be a good idea.”Together with Chris Swank, the fourbecame partners in Mezcal, with Connorsand Cohen providing the capital for theproject. The result, Connors says, has beenan unbelievably successful restaurant.Designed to conjure up the feeling Tim Connors ’78 at hisnew restaurant, Mezcal,with Sarah and LaneyBarroll Stark ’79 and hiswife Elsie and their sonsLachlan and Hamilton.of an old neighborhood cantina, therestaurant includes hand-painted tiles,colorful stenciled Mexican patterns, anddistressed wood. The interior also featuresvintage Mexican movie posters, vibrantLatin American colors, oil paintings ofmasked Mexican wrestlers, and a muralof a Mexican billboard. Mezcal’s ironwoodbar is a focal point in the center of therestaurant and boasts a list of more than100 tequilas and mezcals. An eclectic jukeboxadds to the ambiance offering tunesranging from Tito Puente to the Clash.Connors lives in Cherry Hills withhis wife Elsie and their two sons,Hamilton and Lachlan.Sopes de Frijoles NegrosIngredients4 cups corn masa2 1/2 cups water1 teaspoon salt1 pound dried black beans1/2 medium onion, peeled and chopped1 1/2 to 2 chopped jalapeños1 to 2 sprigs epazote or cilantroShredded lettucePico de gallo (recipe below)Queso Quesadilla*Crema*To make beans: Soak beans according to quick soak methodon package. Saute the onion, jalapeños, and epazote in a largepot. Drain beans and add to onion mixture; add enough waterto cover. Cook covered for about three hours until beans aretender. (Check occasionally to make sure there is still enoughwater in the pot to keep beans from burning.)To make sopes: Mix the corn masa, 2 1/2 cups water, and salt.Roll the mixture into 12 small balls (roughly the size of golfballs). Flatten each ball into fat corn tortillas and turn edgesand mold into tart-like shells. Put the masa tartlets on a trayand place in freezer until frozen. Deep-fry the frozen shells,two at a time, in vegetable oil to cover for about five minutes.To make pico de gallo: Combine diced tomatoes, jalapeñopepper, onions, and cilantro. Mix with fresh lime juice.To assemble: Top each shell with black beans, queso quesadilla,shredded lettuce, and pico de gallo. Drizzle with crema andserve immediately.*Available at Latin supermarkets26 Taft Bulletin Summer 2004

John Dayton ’64Routh Street InvestmentsDallas, TexasJohn Dayton opened his first restaurant,Routh Street Cafe in Dallas, in 1982. Hehad been a real estate lawyer for a largeDallas firm, but didn’t see himself spendinghis whole career that way and decidedto try real estate development.“I came at restaurants from the realestate development perspective,” Daytonsays. In the process of setting up his firstproject, he discovered that few restaurantprojects run by silent investors succeed.“And I realized at the same time thatI really enjoyed the restaurant business.”By the fall of 1982, he committed to bean active partner with chef Stephan Pyles.Together they created a small, whitetableclothrestaurant that focused onregional American cuisine with an upscaletaste of the Southwest. The DallasMorning News quickly gave them fivestars, and USA Today named them “oneof the best new restaurants in America.”Part of their success, says Dayton, wasthe growth of the American cuisinemovement beyond the West Coast.As luck would have it, Routh StreetCafe was the hot new restaurant in Dallaswhen the Republican National Conventioncame to town in 1983. The nationalpress also came to town, and their coveragecatapulted the restaurant into thenational limelight on the coattails of theconvention. For 11 years Routh Street wasalways among the best restaurants in Dallas.In its sixth year, they opened offspringBaby Routh, a larger, more casual operationbut still with high culinary standards. John Dayton ’64 says he thoroughly enjoysthe theatrical side to the restaurant business,“that public aspect of presentation.”The success of both restaurants gotDayton an invitation to start two new restaurantsin his hometown of Minneapolis.Goodfellow’s, named after the local drygoods store Dayton’s great-grandfather acquiredin 1902, opened in 1988.“It was the Midwest equivalent ofRouth Street,” says Dayton, “fine dining,high culinary standards, but with a Midwestrather than Southwest flavor.” TheFood Network’s Best Of series said thatGoodfellow’s allure was its 1930 art decointeriors and its inventive menu. It, too,received its share of awards—from a AAAfour-diamond rating to annual recognitionfor its wine list by Wine Spectator.At the same time, Dayton also openedTejas in the Twin Cities. A fun, more casualrestaurant with a Southwestern flair,Tejas was followed in the late ’90s by BarAbilene. “It was far and away our most financiallysuccessful establishment to date,”says Dayton, who has since sold the Dallasrestaurants, but also created the FranklinStreet Bakery. Originally conceived as a wayof providing desserts for the three otherlocations, the wholesale operation eventuallyaligned with a local chain of coffeeshops and wholesale distributorships andnow provides all their baked goods as well.“I’m not as involved as I was,” saysDayton, who continues to live in Dallaswhile both restaurants are in Minnesota.“I spend three to four days there eachmonth. My role has largely been in conceptdevelopment and opening.” Daytonfocuses on the design and décor andworks with his chef partner on the developmentof the menu and the wineprogram “and then let them handle thedaily operation,” he says.The restaurant business is about “theability to cater to the basic pleasures ofthe public and to provide a total diningexperience,” says Dayton. “It’s theater. Ithoroughly enjoy that public aspect ofpresentation.”Pecan Crusted Walleyewith Sweet Corn Saladand Horseradish CreamPecan Crusted Walleye6 cleaned fillets of walleye1/2 cup buttermilk2 cups Japanese bread crumbs1 cup pecansSalt and pepperFine chop the pecans in a food processorwith 1 cup of the breadcrumbs. Add this tothe rest of the breadcrumbs and set aside.Arrange the fillets in a non-reactivepan. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzlethe buttermilk over the fish to coat.Sprinkle crumb-nut mixture over the topand press into the fillets. Cover with filmand set aside in the cooler.Sweet Corn Salad3 ears roasted sweet corn off the cob1 pint red grape tomatoes, sliced in half2 red bell peppers, small diced2 scallions, sliced thin2 sprigs basil leaves, torn2 bunches arugula, washed and dried1/4 cup balsamic vinegar1/4 cup olive oilSalt and pepperCombine the corn, tomatoes, pepper,scallions, and basil in a bowl. In anotherbowl, whisk together the oil and vinegar.Set aside in the cooler.Horseradish Cream1/3 cup fresh horseradish, peeled andchopped1 cup sour cream3/4 cup heavy cream1 teaspoon sugarSaltIn a blender, buzz the horseradish withenough water to purée. BE CAREFUL notto inhale the purée. Combine all ingredientsand season with salt. Chill.To assemble, set a heavy-bottomednonstick pan on high heat. When hot,add a little oil and with the crusted sidedown, saute the fish until golden brown.Carefully turn the fillets and finish on theother side. Set onto serving plates.Toss the corn salad with arugula andarrange on top of the fish. Drizzle thehorseradish cream around the plate witha spoon. Serve.

Craig Larson ’82Crazy From the HeatRestaurants, Inc.Boca Raton, Florida“The restaurant business has been a fabulouschoice for my wife and me, but it iscertainly one people should think longand hard about before entering,” saysCraig Larson ’82, who owns three restaurantsin south Florida. “My advice isto get all the practical experience possibleand remember—you are committing toa lifestyle, not just a job!”Larson says he knew from an earlyage that he would need to find a careerthat did not involve sitting at a desk, onethat would provide a different experienceevery day.“Renegade” Chili,Lucille’s Bad to the Bone BBQIngredients2 tablespoons vegetable oil1 onion, chopped2 red peppers2 16-ounce cans tomatoes in juice1 can water3 cups beef broth3 tablespoons garlic powder1/4 cup chili powder1/4 cup cumin3 tablespoon salt1 16-ounce can kidney beans8-pound slow-cooked lean beef brisket Karin and Craig Larson ’82 with theirchildren Ryan and Cole at Lucille’s Bad tothe Bone BBQ.Place beef brisket on tin foil. Lightly season with salt and pepper, garlic, and onion.Seal and cook at 225 degrees for 4 to 5 hours or until meat breaks apart easily.Sauté vegetables until tender and add brisket and all other ingredientsexcept beans.Cook at 300 degrees for about 45 min. When finished, add beans.Makes 10 servings.Will keep for five days.“I was fortunate enough,” he says, “toluck into a job at an upscale restaurant/hotel when I took a year off from collegeto ski and work in Utah, working for ayoung, enthusiastic, and wonderfully creativeexecutive chef. After that, I knew thefoodservice industry was for me.”After college, Larson packed up hisworldly possessions and headed south tosunny Florida with partner and girlfriendKarin (who’s now his wife). “A deli case anda slicer were all we had in the beginning,”Larson told Nation’s Restaurant News in1999, “and that kitchen we worked in wasso unbearably hot I know it had a permanenteffect on our psychological state.”Starting with that “tiny deli” in 1987,the Larsons have expanded their operationsinto Crazy From the Heat Restaurants,which now includes three Lucille’s BBQrestaurants—in Boca Raton, Delray Beach,and Boynton Beach— as well as Silver SacCatering, having sold Bistro Zenith andLucille’s American Cafe.“We struggled, made tons of mistakes,and worked incredibly hard. Ibelieve to this day that it was our naïveoptimism and determination that allowedus to overcome the numerousobstacles inherent in this business andfind a way to succeed.”28 Taft Bulletin Summer 2004

Dinner withAlumniRolph Nelson ’84Sconset CaféNantucket, MassachusettsBuying the Sconset Café ten years agowas a kind of homecoming for Rolphand Cindy Nelson, who first met whileworking at the restaurant in the summerof ’83. But the connection betweentheir families began years earlier, in1965, when his mother swapped a ginand tonic for one of her grandfather’sstriped bass. Both families have long tiesto the island; Cindy’s family’s dating Rolph Nelson ’84 with wife Cindy andsons Cooper and Reece. CARY HAZLEGROVE The Sconset Café is an unpretentiousrestaurant where people can come rightoff the beach and get a meal as good asanywhere else on the island. PATRICIA ADAMSTaft Bulletin Summer 200429

ack to 1910. In fact, her family evenbuilt his family’s house.Not much came of that first summer,and five years passed before theybumped into each other in New Yorkwhile Rolph was at Culinary School.They married, and he went on to workat Windows on the World at the WorldTrade Center, until the 1993 bombingclosed the restaurant. So they moved toNorth Carolina to run a country inn together.Two years later, the owners of theSconset Café approached Rolph andCindy about buying the restaurant andreturning to Nantucket.“I always knew I wanted to go intothe restaurant business,” says Nelson. “Inever thought I’d go the traditional businessroute. Going to culinary school wasdefinitely a good thing to do, to be a chef/owner you need to know about both sidesof the business.”Nelson says he cooked with hismother all the time growing up and hehad uncles who loved to cook. “My familyback in England were brewers andwine merchants; good food has alwaysbeen important in our family.”In fact, the Nelsons’ current businessventure is acquiring the wine shop nextdoor. “The restaurant is BYOB, so that’ssomething I’ve always missed, havingbeen in the wine business,” Nelson says.Nantucket is a seasonal resort, so in theoff-season, he spends time on the businessside of the venture, “chasing up plumbers”and recruiting staff for the summer.“I really enjoy working with youngpeople,” says Nelson, who spent twosummers teaching at Taft. “We bring ininterns from cooking school. There’s alot of teaching in the cooking environment.It’s definitely an additional benefitto this kind of work.”But by far the largest advantage tothe off-season, he says, is that he gets tobe a full-time dad. “It’s a bit of a strugglein the summer when things are crazy, butwhen I graduated from culinary school Ithought, if I can get to a place where IQuahog ChowderA day doesn’t pass at the Sconset Café that the Nelsons don’t hear from their customersthat they have the best chowder they’ve ever tasted. There are as many versions ofNew England clam (or quahog) chowder as there are cooks. Rolph’s recipe entails moreeffort but the result, he says, is a full-bodied, creamy, chock-full-of-clams chowder.Ingredients1/2 pound uncooked bacon, finely chopped1 large onion, minced1 carrot, very finely chopped3/4 cup celery, minced2 teaspoon dried thyme1 tablespoon dried dillweed1/2 teaspoon white pepper1/4 cup flour3 cups clam juice or fish stock1/2 cup dry white wine3 6.5-ounce cans of chopped clams, with juice3 bay leaves3 cups diced potatoes, cooked until tender1 cup heavy creamPreparation Time: 40 minutesTime to Bake: 40 minutesMakes 8 to 10 ServingsThe Base:In a large heavy-gauge stockpot, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until the fatis rendered and the bacon is crisp. Add the onions, carrot and celery and sauté untilthe vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes. Add the thyme, dillweed, and pepperand sauté 2 minutes longer. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly over low tomedium heat for 4 to 6 minutes. Do not allow the flour to burn.The Chowder:Heat the clam juice and wine with the bay leaves in a 2-quart, non-aluminum saucepanover high heat until boiling. Lower the heat and cook at a simmer for about 5 minutesthen gradually stir the broth into the base. Raise the heat under the stockpot to mediumand cook the chowder for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the clams andpotatoes, roughly mashing about a half cup of the potatoes against the sides of thestockpot, and heat until the chowder is warmed through. At this point the chowdermay be refrigerated for up to 3 days, loosely covered with plastic wrap.To serve, add the heavy cream and allow the chowder to reheat to serving temperature,taking care not to let the mixture boil. Season to taste with salt, if necessary.can balance family and doing what I love,then I’d feel really lucky.”Rolph and Cindy live in Amherst,Mass., during the school year to give theirboys Cooper, 7, and Reece, 4, access to abetter school system, with one or theother running out to the island in thespring and fall, but, Rolph asks, “whatbetter place is there to spend a summerthan Nantucket?”30 Taft Bulletin Summer 2004

Dinner withAlumniJohn A. “Sandy” Saxten ’63TS RestaurantsHawaii and CaliforniaSaxten credits his interest in restaurantswith his first experience as a waiter whilestudying at Stanford. In 1968, he wasfresh out of school and started the RustyScupper, eventually opening several restaurantsin Massachusetts as well as inPhiladelphia and Chicago before sellingthe franchise to Nestlé. (Classmate BiffBarnard, who’s on Saxten’s current board,was also involved with the Rusty Scupperfor a few years.)“Restaurants shifted gears in theearly ’70s,” he says. They brought inlighter natural woods, bright colors,younger servers and a more informal atmosphere,still with simple Americancuisine. “We wanted to be a part of that.”In 1977, Saxten and his late partnerRob Thibaut opened their first restaurantin Hawaii.“We decided we loved restaurants.We liked the people, the upbeat tempo,and the variety of the business skills requiredto succeed. We wanted to be inthe restaurant business.“We were different,” says Saxten,“but we had the same values. We wantedto have restaurants in places we eitherwanted to live or go on vacation—andon water whenever we could.”Eleven other restaurants followed:five more in Hawaii and six in California,with more in the works includinganother Hula Grill in Waikiki, next doorto their own Duke’s restaurant, “only alittle fancier,” he says, “but not much.”“Our customers have grown up,” hesays, “and we have to do more, be a littlemore sophisticated now. Our restaurantsare wonderful places to relax and enjoylife with friends. We still consider ourselvesa small company even with over2,000 employees. With twelve restaurants—allin beautiful places where wePoke Rolls,TS RestaurantsPoke Roll Ingredients1 pound Ahi, trimmed and diced (small)1 bunch chopped scallions1/4 cup chopped pickled ginger1/3 cup soy sauce2 teaspoon kosher salt1 teaspoon red chili flakes1 teaspoon sesame seeds1 teaspoon sesame oilwonton wrappersMix all ingredients together and wrapwith wonton wrapper.After assembling the rolls in wonton wrappers,saute in a small amount of olive oilfor two minutes or until golden brown.Slice and serve with dipping sauce."Poke Sauce IngredientsEqual parts:HoneySoy sauceSirachi chiliDash of cilantroMix ingredients together and serve.ourselves would choose to live—and ourgreater size, we still consider ourselves justa small group of close friends.”California RestaurantsDuke’s Huntington Beach, Duke’sMalibu, Jake’s Del Mar, The Cliffhouse(La Quinta), Jake’s On The Lake (TahoeCity), and Sunnyside Restaurant &Lodge (Tahoe City)Hawaii RestaurantsDuke’s Kauai, Duke’s Waikiki, Keoki’s Paradise(Kauai), Kimo’s (Maui), Hula Grill(Maui), and Leilani’s on the Beach (Maui) Sandy Saxten ’63, right, with wife Danaand son Jack, says he wanted restaurantsin places that they would either want tolive in or visit on vacation—and on thewater whenever they could.Taft Bulletin Summer 200431

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○The campus mayhave changed,but for alumni,the reasons theycome back remainmuch the same.In the words ofAmy Bernon’srevised AlmaMater… “friendsand teachersalways these, Taft,our memorieslinger on.”By Julie Reiff○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○why they come back

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ After a rain-soaked weekend in 2003,alumni took advantage of the wonderfulweather for this year’s reunion festivitiesand stayed on throughout the afternoonto watch the athletic contests.alumni day○WWhat is always so remarkable aboutAlumni Day are the distances graduatestravel to see old classmates andcheck in on their school. Hailing fromRussia, New Zealand, and SaudiArabia as well as from San Francisco,New York, and Watertown, nearly 500people made the trek on a beautifulMay weekend. From the Class of ’31to the Class of ’03, alumni returned totheir campus to see old friends, to popin on teachers, and remark on thebeauty of the place.“It’s great to be back,” said Rob Petty’79, New York City, who had only beenback one other time in 25 years. “What’sstriking is the beauty of the place. Itwas always beautiful, and it’s alwaysbeen a special place in the world.”Dylan Simonds ’89 of Mill Valley,California, too, “came back to see oldfriends and faculty members and tocheck out the campus—which haschanged so much. I wanted to see someclassmates—like Kate Jellinghaus—whom I hadn’t seen in 15 years.”“Of course the school haschanged,” said Stephan Koenen ’94from Hamburg, Germany, who hadbeen back only five years earlier. “Ifound it amazing how CPT just flowsinto the new building [Vogelstein] andyou don’t even notice it. It’s brighter;everywhere seems brighter.”PHOTOGRAPHY BY PETER FINGER Chaplain Michael Spencer greets alumniafter the Service of Remembrance at ChristChurch on the Green.Members of the Class of ’39 ready for theparade in front of the school: Clare and JesDall (left), Peggy Lou Feldmeier (right), andSpanky and Sylvia Sheldon, who traveledfrom New Zealand to attend the reunion. Madeleine,daughter of DickMattson ’49, hasher face painted aspart of theChildren’s Programduring the AlumniLuncheon.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Chip Spencer greets Nancy and HerbFrisbie ’44 after the memorial service onFriday afternoon. The oldest alumnus in attendance, DickSimpson ’31, right, and his wife Rebeccavisit with Ruth and Dick Davidson ’33. 1984 classmates Madeline Djerejian andFelecia Williams greet Jennifer Buttenheim,left, who made it to the reunion all the wayfrom Russia. 1964 classmatesScott Farley,Andrew Larkin,and John Daytontake a moment tocatch up beforethe parade. The Class of ’54turned up in forceto celebrate its50th Reunion.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○alumni day○ Here to celebrate Wesley Williams’sselection as this year’s Alumni Citation ofMerit recipient are his mother, Dr. BathrusWilliams, his wife Karen, sons Bo andBailey, and daughter-in-law Drew. The Alumnilacrosse game wasshort on playersbut long on fun.Even the refereefrom the varsitymatch stayed on toplay. Facultymembers BrianDenyer andJonathan Bernonrefereed. The Herrlinger family on Alumni Day:Kim and Ted ’46, Erika and Mark ’84 withson Seth, and Kitty Herrlinger Hillman ’76with Daniel ’06Although most alumni are impressedby the new facilities, mostadmit it’s something else that bringsthem back.“It’s a different place entirely fromwhen I went here,” said Jon Warner’54 of Pelham, New York. “First of allthere are girls, and the place is so expandedin terms of facilities, but thepeople are what draw me back. Seeingthe people again.”It was a momentous week for Jon,who arrived in Watertown for his 50thReunion having spent the day beforeat a Moroccan restaurant in Jerusalem.“Yesterday I put a prayer in the WesternWall of the Temple for my twoJewish granddaughters,” he said, “andI lit two candles at the Church of theHoly Sepulcher for my two Catholicgranddaughters.”For Petty too, reunion weekend isabout “friends, and the communityand the time you spent together at thatearly age. We had a wonderful, crazytime. It’ll be nice to see everybodymatured, to see everyone grown up andcomfortable with who they are, withfamilies and spouses and all that. I’mjust happy to be back.”Derek Pierce ’84 of Portland,Maine, however, admitted he had ulteriormotives for his return. “I’m hereto secretly tape some stuff about myTaft Bulletin Summer 200435

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Martha and Bryan Smith ’89 at the Headmaster’s Supperon Saturday A mixed alumni group—Spike Hasler ’59, Taylor Moore ’99,Mac Brighton ’74, and Trip Stocker ’74—at the Friday golf tournament.The Class of ’79, however, won the trophy. 1994 Classmates Carol Ciriello, JordanYoung, Scott Mackay, and Jeff Tuckerteam up for the Alumni Golf Tournament. Steve Blakeslee’54 and his guestPam at theOld Guard Dinner36Taft Bulletin Summer 2004

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○alumni day○ Faculty emeriti Marion Makepeace and husband John ’38, Polly Merriman (widow of Bill’43), John Noyes, Ted Greene, Pecky Lodge, Tanny Reiff, Tom Lodge, and Neil Currie ’41dad [Scott Pierce ’49]. It’s his 50thwedding anniversary with my momthis year, so I’m going to talk with hisclassmates about what really happenedwhen he was here and find out thenature of the nickname in his yearbook,which he never revealed to us,so we’re going to find out.”Pierce was not alone in his familyties over the weekend. Three generationsof Herrlingers were spottedvisiting before the parade, and JimMoore ’74 balanced his time betweenhis classmates and visiting his lowermiddaughter Emily. “We had a greatclass,” Moore said. “It’s wonderful tosee everyone, and so many of theold masters were [at the ’74 party]:Bill Nicholson—I hadn’t seen himsince I’d graduated—and RogerStacey. I got the chance to apologizefor living down the hall from himmy lower-mid year.”“My teachers and classmates werethe most memorable part of my experience,”said Shruthi Mahalingaiah ’94from Brookline, Massachusetts, “Mr.Everett (whom I got to see at theparty), Mr. Comiskey, Mr. Potter, andBJ Goodwin…. I had time betweengraduation from med school and startingmy residency. Before too muchtime passed I wanted to reconnect withmy classmates, see how they are and Bailey and Whitney, daughters of PhobeVaughn Outerbridge ’84, help gatherballoons after the luncheon. The men of the50th ReunionClass of ’54 jointhe Old Guard. Latin teacherand baseball coachJoe Brogna ralliesthe team in itsgame against Kenton Saturdayafternoon.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ HeadmasterWilly MacMullenthanks reunionvolunteers KevitCook, RockyFawcett, and SteveBlakeslee ’54 fortheir dedicationthis year. 1933 classmatesDick Davidson, RibHall, and HenryBecton returnedfor their annualreunion luncheonwith their originalclass banner.Williams honored with alumni citation of meritThe Citation of Merit Committee this yearbestowed the school’s highest honor onWesley Samuel Williams Jr. ’59, a lawyer,businessman, philanthropist, and pioneerwho “never shied from hard work…andalways deflected personal glory.”“Fluent in eight languages,” CharlieYonkers read from the citation, “you arewell versed in the legal rhetoric of yourprofession, you communicate the universaltruths and humanitarian valuessteeped in spiritual allegiance to yourchurch, through which your devotion tocivic responsibility is manifest.”Williams, among his many communityactivities, is a member of the executivecommittee of the Washington Lawyers’Committee for Civil Rights Under Lawand a former president and longtimeboard member of Family and Child Services,receiving their Stoddard Award for“sustained exemplary community service.”Williams is chairman of the ExecutiveCommittee and the Committee ofthe Whole, Board of Regents, of theSmithsonian Institution, and a cancer survivorwho chairs the National ProstateCancer Coalition. “There are far too manymen whom I have known personally,” hesaid, “who have experienced needlesspain and suffering—and even prematuredeath—from prostate cancer.” He said itwas also out of gratitude for his own fullrecovery that he took the position.A magna cum laude graduate ofHarvard College, he received degreesfrom Columbia, the Fletcher School ofDiplomacy, and Harvard Law. Williamsis the first African-American to serve bothas legal counsel to a U.S. Senate Committeeand as head of the Harvard LawSchool Association and of the HarvardLaw School Fund. Paving the way for others,he has made a point of giving back.As a member of the Harvard Board ofOverseers, he headed the oversight committeefor Harvard Divinity School for fiveyears and later the oversight committeefor Harvard’s Memorial Church.Dedicated to his faith, Williams isalso a licensed lay catechist, lay reader, andlay preacher with the Episcopal Dioceseof Washington, D.C., and a church-schoolteacher for both adults and teens.In 2002, by command of QueenElizabeth II, Williams was invested as aKnight of the Most Venerable Order ofthe Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.When Virginia Union University presentedhim with an honorary doctor oflaws degree that same year, they remarkedthat he “exemplified the committed life,characterized by excellence at every turn,resulting in high, often historic distinctionin a broad range of fields.”On April 1, Williams became solepresident and chief operating officer—while continuing as co-chairman andco-chief executive officer—of the 120-yearoldLockhart Companies, including all 22 Wesley Williams ’59, the recipient of theschool’s highest honor, the Citation ofMerit, talks about how his passion for learningwas materially enhanced at Taft.companies in Lockhart’s three divisions (realestate, insurance, and consumer finance),prompting his early retirement later thisyear from the Washington-based internationallaw firm of Covington and Burling,where he has been a partner for more than30 years. He remains active as chairman ofthe Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, aswell as chairman of the National Conferencethat is comprised of all 24 chairmenand deputy chairmen of the 12 FederalReserve Banks across the country. On June16, Williams was elected to the board ofdirectors of the Bear Stearns Companies.Together with Karen Hastie Williamswhom he married in 1968, Williams hasthree grown children: Amanda WilliamsCalhoun, Wesley Hastie Williams, andBailey Lockhart Williams, and onegrandson, William Ernest Calhoun.38Taft Bulletin Summer 2004

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○alumni day○ Stallworth Larson, John Merrow, Charles Cheney, and TobyHubbard, all ’59, congratulate classmate Wesley Williams onreceiving this year’s Alumni Citation of Merit. Dancersespecially enjoyedthe music of the TaftJazz Band at theOld Guard Dinner.how they’ve grown, make sure I saidhello. It’s still gorgeous here.”For Felecia Washington Williams’84, it was her first Alumni Day as afaculty member, and her presence herewas a draw for more than one ofher classmates, said Brad Ring ofManchester, Vermont, also ’84.“I hadn’t been back in years,” admittedclassmate Jennifer Buttenheimwho was in the States on business fromMoscow, Russia. “Living overseas I justhaven’t had the opportunity, but it’snice to be back.”Students escorted alumni and theirguests to math and history classes orto the gallery to see the show by JohnBria ’69, who was back for his 35th.They gave tours of the lower campusin the morning and of the athleticfacilities after lunch.“We’ve been here a lot,” addedMoore, “so it’s not quite as much of ashock to come back and see all thebuilding, but even so it was quite somethingto drive up this weekend and—asyou first see the campus from theroad—to catch that view of the newdorm and looking on up to the fieldsbeyond. It’s really beautiful.”“I enjoyed it so much,” said Koenen.“Coming back every five years is perfect.Coming back from Germanymore often gets too expensive.” Barclay Johnson ’53 greets returning alumni at the end of theluncheon on Saturday. Chip Spencer ’56 with Maggie and John Potter ’49Taft Bulletin Summer 200439

✵Voyages ofDISCOVERYExcerpts from the 114th Commencement RemarksBY ELISABETH GRIFFITH, guest speakerI was asked to speak as a parent, so I willbegin by expressing the affection and prideof every parent here. We love you. We aregrateful you have survived the risks of adolescencein America and the rigors of aTaft education. As parents we offer ourabundant and heartfelt thanks to Taft facultyand staff for challenging our childrento rise to your standards of excellence.At Madeira, we require students totake public speaking; one assignment isto imagine themselves returning to campusin 25 years to accept the AlumnaeAchievement Award. I revel in the ambitionsexpressed. This spring we had thefuture presidents of three countries, severalsenators, the poet laureate, a soupkitchen supervisor, a dancer, an astronaut,and assorted Oscar, Emmy, Tony,Grammy, and Pulitzer Prize winners.How would the Taft Class of 2004imagine themselves, if we gave themthe same challenge? It’s easy to envisionA.G. Leventhal as senator from New York,working closely with Annie Strickland,who chairs the Democratic NationalCommittee. Or Dozie Uzoma appearingon the cover of Forbes, perhaps the sameweek that John Lockwood is namedPeople’s most eligible bachelor.I can imagine Fiona McFarland assecretary of defense and Supriya Balsekarlobbying to make squash an Olympicsport, and taking the gold. Equally predictablewill be Lila Claghorn winningthe Grammy for singer-songwriter orJason Lee winning the Nobel Prize forphysics or Lindsey Gael saving Russianlakes from industrial pollution or WillyOppenheim writing about WaltWhitman for The New Yorker.Who will forget the night of theTaft sweep at the Oscars, when MattAnderson, Daniel Barenholtz, and JuliaTyson won statuettes for directing, producingand acting in the same movie?On the red carpet, Ms. Tyson wore agown designed by Katie Martin.Having sold his computer companyat age 30, Chris Carlson donates a dormand joins the Taft board. Chris frequentsNew York’s hottest art gallery, owned byVeronica Torres, who represents the workof Ann Kidder and J.D. Deardourff.Meanwhile Tyler Whitley, winner of theButkus Award, is linebacker coach for theNew England Patriots, and Andrew Eisenhas replaced Mr. Mac as headmaster.Whatever you imagine you may becomemay change entirely between nowand your next graduation or your 40thbirthday or your 50th reunion. TheUnited States Department of Labor predictsthat most of you will have sevencareers in your lifetimes. For the first timeever, young men and women will be admittedto graduate school in equalnumbers, will be hired for the same positions,and paid the same salaries. Thehistoric discrimination, which results incollege educated women being paid lessthan high-school dropout men, won’t becomeevident in your lives until you arein your thirties—when you are makingdecisions about having babies, how manybabies, who will care for the babies, andwho makes partner. I’m hoping that theyoung people in this class will work to40Taft Bulletin Summer 2004

✶ COMMENCEMENT 2004PHOTOS: BOB FALCETTI Faculty file past the soon-to-be graduates on their way to the ceremony; Dick Cobb,Steve Schieffelin, and Jack Kenerson ’82 lead the group. Head monitor and recipient of the 1908Medal, Andrew Eisen raises the class stonebefore placing it in the wall of Centennial.change those institutions which underminethe stability of families and whichstill discriminate against women lessprivileged than you.As parents we hope you find avocation you love—in banking or biophysics,farming or fashion, poetry orpolitics; an occupation that covers therent and pays for health insurance; andpassion, something to inspire your life—a calling, a cause, a person. Lucky peoplefind all three.I will insert here a public service announcementon behalf of teaching,nursing, firefighting, and serving yourcommunity and country. Come back toTaft and become the next Rusty Davis.Consider the Peace Corps or the Job Corpsor the Marines. Be a police officer or Armyranger like Jamie Wallace’s brothers.I also want to invoke you to vote andto run for office. It is alarming to me thatmore people voted for American Idol thanvoted for president in the last election.Young people ages 18 to 34 volunteer inenormous numbers, as you have here atTaft in the Watertown community (andas Madeira girls do every Wednesday forthree years). Yet this cohort rarely votes.Clearly there is a connection between thecountry’s needs and your vote. Have youseen the T-shirt, “If you aren’t appalled,you haven’t been paying attention”? It’stime to pay attention.In addition to being a mom and aheadmistress, I am a historian. So I consideredpast events for my rite of passagemetaphor today. During your senioryear we will have commemorated the60th anniversary of D-Day, the 50thanniversary of the Brown v. Board ofEducation decision, and the 40th anniversaryof Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream”speech. One hundred years ago lastDecember the Wright brothers launchedtheir biplane at Kitty Hawk. Two hundredyears ago, on May 2, 1804, Lewisand Clark launched their “voyage ofdiscovery.” That two-year odyssey fromSt. Louis to the Pacific coast, exploringand mapping unknown territory, offersprovocative and singularly American lifelessons for all of us.Purchased from France for $15 million,the Louisiana Territory doubled thesize of the United States, gave us controlof the Mississippi River, provided invaluablescientific data, and encouraged oursense of Manifest Destiny. Finally, ignoringthe population of African-Americanslaves and freedmen, it forced the overwhelminglyProtestant and white East toconfront the polyglot culture of the West.Acquiring the Louisiana Territorywould test our nation’s ability to absorband assimilate different cultures, a characteristicthat has defined us as a nationof immigrants but a concept with whichwe still struggle. This new land west ofthe Mississippi was a savory multiculturalgumbo, populated by French andSpanish Catholics, free blacks, pirates,backwoodsmen, and nations of NativeAmericans. The question of whether slaverywould be extended into its 800,000square miles was a cause of the CivilWar. Its magnificence gave us “amberwaves of grain, and purple mountainsmajesties.” Its frontier gave us a recurringtheme in American literature, as men likeLeatherstocking and boys like Huck Finn“lit out for the territory,” and families likethe Joads searched for a promised land.The story of Lewis and Clark appealsTaft Bulletin Summer 200441

Salutatorian Jeff Fielding ’04 also receivedthe Bourne Medal in History and theWilson-Douglas Mathematics Prize.✵ Chaplain Michael Spencer and Headmaster Willy MacMullen greet guest speakerDr. Elisabeth Griffith, Headmistress of The Madeira School in McLean, Virginia.to me in part because when the troopwas lost they had to ask directions froma woman. Married to a French trader,Sacagawea was only 16 and pregnant whenshe acted as their guide. The band was alsobiracial; Captain Clark had brought hisslave York. It impresses me that once thecorps reached the Pacific and establishedcamp, the commanders called for a voteon which route to take home, includingboth York and Sacagawea in the tally.I hope you found resonance in thataccount: that life is a voyage of discovery;that there are lessons in the past (so youshould listen to your parents); that takingrisks and embracing diversity are rewardingendeavors; and that pursuing yourdreams could require undaunted courage.My second history lesson offers amore recent example of courage. Noone here today will forget that yourtime at Taft included September 11,2001. For many of you, who came asmiddlers, it was your first day in a newschool. It was the first day of classesand Mr. Mac’s first assembly as headmaster.Our world changed forever on9/11. Those changes haunt us today,when the country is on orange alert andantiaircraft guns circle the Capitol.As a way of remembering and respectingthose who died escaping thebuildings or rushing into the buildingsor in other acts of heroism that day,I made myself read every “Portrait ofGrief” published in the New York Times.Only a few of those short obituary paragraphsmentioned where the dead wentto college, much less to prep school. NoSAT scores, no job titles were included.The focus in each entry was on thecharacter of the individual, as defined bydeeds like coaching Little League, singingin a gospel choir, volunteering in a soupkitchen, or teaching tap dancing to retirees.The dead were devoted dads anddutiful daughters, pet lovers and pranksters.They were remembered not for whatthey earned but for how they behaved—honorably, bravely, kindly, ethically.They were loved for themselves, asyou are by your parents. With your teachers,we wish you farewell on your life’sadventures—no matter how challengingor perilous. Even if you find your routeunmapped or if you get diverted fromyour original destination, you will alwaysbe welcomed home, by your families andby Taft. You will never need to introduceyourselves or present your credentials tous. We love you. Godspeed.Dr. Elisabeth Griffith has been headmistressof The Madeira School in McLean, Virginia,since 1988. A historian, educator, and author,she received a Ph.D. in history fromThe American University. She holds an M.A.from Johns Hopkins and a B.A. fromWellesley. She has been a Kennedy Fellowat Harvard and has taught women’s historyat The American University and at the NationalCathedral School. She served as aconsultant for Ken Burns’s documentary,Not for Ourselves Alone, about ElizabethCady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, basedin part on Griffith’s biography of Stanton,In Her Own Right. In addition to her manycivic activities, she also serves on the advisoryboard of The White House Project, abipartisan effort to create support for awoman president. She is married to JohnDeardourff, and they are the parents ofMegan and J.D. ’04. She has two grownstepdaughters, Anne and Katie.42Taft Bulletin Summer 2004

✶ COMMENCEMENT 2004OPPOSITE PAGE, BOB FALCETTI; LEFT, HIGHPOINT PICTURES; RIGHT, BOB FALCETTI Jean Maher presents Katie McCabe ’04 witha senior athletic award. Katie also received theMarion Hole Makepeace award as the girl whohas given most to Taft athletics. Parents and graduates enjoyed a post-graduation luncheon on Snyder Field this year,just the other side of the arch from Centennial Quadrangle.ANDREW EISEN ’04, head monitorAs I attempted to picture my first days atTaft, I recalled the visions of an unfamiliarplace—visions that elicited wonderand were filled with an endless possibilityof accomplishing anything and ofbeing anyone. Now I see a place that isanything but unfamiliar. Taft knows us;we know Taft. We’ll never forget whatthe Jig was, or what “the scene” meant,or what the practice rooms were reallyused for. But with that increased familiaritycomes a decrease in possibility. It’sonly natural as you grow older; certainpossibilities become impossible. It’s dishearteningperhaps—but it’s true.As a lower mid, I dreamed of playingvarsity lacrosse, and I told myself thatif I hadn’t quit playing hockey in 6th gradeI would be playing under Mr. Maher.Well, I have yet to make a single JV team,not to mention varsity, and now I neverwill. When I was four, I dreamt of ridinga two-wheeler. I’m 18 now, and each daythat passes makes that dream seem lessand less achievable. And although mostof you can ride a bike, and although mostof you have played at least one JV sportduring your years at Taft, I’m sure thatin some way, some goal that you had aslower mid or mid has gone unrealized.We all have dreams and expectationsof ourselves that go unmet. This may seemrather bleak, but it does not need to be,and in fact, it should not be. Taft does nothinge on one’s individual goals. Your Taftexperience should not be made or brokenby the aspirations that you did or did notrealize. Taft is bigger than you. Rather, asyou look back and attempt to recall Taft,you should think upon the experience—the WHOLE experience—not just theclasses you aced and the ones you failed, orthe teams you made and the ones that cutyou, but the bigger picture. The afternoonsyou spent by the pond wasting time. Orthe mornings you spent in the Jig killingyour debit account. And the nights beforethe big tests when you got 14 grades at12:30 for an off-corridor association. Andall the times that you spent in the companyof your friends. Those are what matter.Those are what make the Taft experience.What made my Taft experience is allof you, the kids in front of me and theteachers behind that have made cominghere every day for four years so incredibleand such a pleasure and a joy. I willnever forget the time we spent together.Graduation is bittersweet. Whetheryou are the kid who has been crying openlyall week about how much you will missTaft or the one who has been crying forfour years about how much you cannot waitto graduate, at some point, you will beswept with a longing for Taft, and the daysspent here and you will be overcome withsome sorrow about your departure. Myadvice is to put that someday far away.Enjoy the next week, the next night, thenext few hours. Try to appreciate the factthat these are the last days that we will shareas a class, as a united group. Take a lastwalk by the pond, grab a last snack at theJig, enjoy a last stroll down the halls ofCentennial and CPT. Hope that you’vetaken in this experience for all it’s worth,then take off the afternoon, and have agreat time. I think we’ve all earned that.Taft Bulletin Summer 200443

✵ Kevin Jacobs ’04 and his very proud parents Rob Kneip ’04 with brothers Will ’96 and Fred ’92OCTAVIA GIOVANNINI-TORELLI ’04, class speakerRepeatedly, teachers and parents witha big grin have admitted, “You guysare my favorite class.” Today graduatesa class that can only be defined ascharismatic. We are not afraid to takerisks, or try new things, and we certainlyhave not succumbed to fit anyTaft mold. Instead, we have acceptedmany challenges and succeeded in ourown style, without shedding our distinctqualities, and always with alaugh. We have a special oomph, acertain positive energy, and an intriguingenthusiasm that unifies theindividuals sitting in front of me.When I came here, three yearsago, I was completely unaware and unprepared.What I found was a forcethat settles among and solidifies thered brick buildings and fuels the individualsthat walk among them. Ineach of the students graduating heretoday, a little fire has been sparked bythis powerful passion. For me, in anEnglish classroom during the fall ofmy junior year, a teacher lit my firstmatch. In the chem lab, during a heartbreakinggame against Hotchkiss, atbreakfast with an adviser, studying lateone night for a big exam, touring thecampus in a relaxing game of Frisbeegolf, reading Red Inc., performing at acoffeehouse, chilling in the Jig, listeningduring a moving Morning Meeting,or perfecting a pastel portrait of a bestfriend, my peers have found their ownsparks throughout this rare haven.The teachers sitting behind mehave provided us with this excitementalong with limitless knowledge, support,and inspiration, and it is becauseof them that I stand in front of youtoday. My success didn’t come easily,and I was frequently frustrated withmany failures. But it was my teacherswho wiped my blood, sweat, and tears,and repeatedly instilled their eager faithin me. Three years ago, I was confused,worried, and scared. Today, I am brave,confident, and ready for any dauntinghurdle. I can feel the future on my skin.I owe these teachers—we all owethem—infinite gratitude for sharingtheir brilliance and compassion andallowing us to believe in one anotherand ourselves.I will leave with stories of all theliving, eating, fighting, exploring,winning, losing, sharing, cuddling,traveling, dancing, cheering and creatingtogether. The intensity of ourjourney and the genuineness of yourcompanionship have helped me discovermy greatest strengths and haveguided me on the path to attain my fullpotential. I owe you, Class of 2004, forchallenging me, invigorating me, andencouraging me. Thank you for yourtime, your ears, your laughs, your tears,your smiles, and your love.In a few years we will look backon our Taft times, and remember themas a fond memory, like how we recallcamp. But Taft is a place that we oncecalled home. Today we leave our safeshelter and are released out into the freshair. Breathe deep and inhale the sweetnessof our youth and all the infinite44Taft Bulletin Summer 2004

✶ COMMENCEMENT 2004PHOTOS: HIGHPOINT PICTURES Class speaker Willy Oppenheim ’04reminds his classmates not to dwell on thepast but to look ahead to the future. Friends Lauren Malaspina, Tumelano Gopolang, Patricia Garcia, Jessica Durkee, EugeniaSaunders, and Rebecca Duffettpossibilities. We have marked ourterritory, and now it is time to go takeon the next terrain. And every timewe visit we are welcomed home by agreeting engraved on red brick stone.We graduate with more than a diploma,with more than memories, butwith that distinctive flame that yearnsfor the inspiration from the journeysahead of us, to help our sparks burnbrightly. Now it is time for us to let thislittle light of ours shine. Good Luck.WILLY OPPENHEIM ’04, class speakerIn a few hours, when the campus is quietand the cars are packed and we have allgone our separate ways, this entire ceremonywill seem like one big blur. Thesun will be setting by then, and thisfine May day will be coming to its ordinaryend. We will be ambivalent, I’msure, as we watch night approach—wewill be giddy with excitement but unableto ignore the small sad void in ourchests, the touch of nostalgia, the unspokendesire to cling somehow to thisday, to Taft, to all that is changing inthe world and hold it against our heartsforever. We will remember this moment,right now, here in the courtyard,together as a class and a community forthe last time, and somewhere in ourtired, tangled thoughts, we will knowthat we don’t need to be sad. We willknow that we loved it all as best wecould, and we will smile.I want to talk about what it meansto say goodbye, to leave a place that hastouched you, to feel the force of changelike the wind on your back, pushing youforward into a future unknown.At times like these it is easy to startbelieving that we have no control over ouremotions. We can’t erase the quiet sadnessthat rides along with all the pride and joyand triumph of this day, but I think it isimportant to point out that we are notpowerless. We can’t stop the force ofchange—no one can—but we can controlthe way that we respond to it.Essentially, we have two choices: wecan fight against change, or we can tryto embrace it. Fighting change is prettyfutile. Nothing lasts forever, no matterhow hard we try to preserve it. Ourschool changes constantly, and so do ourlives. We grow older; we meet newpeople and learn new things. Change ispart of life, and it can’t be avoided. Ifwe graduate today and we can find solaceonly in the fact that some thingsmight stay the same, I think we will inevitablybe disappointed.We should start celebrating the factthat we have shared something beautifulenough to make us hate saying goodbye.I have certainly had some feelings of nostalgiaover the past few weeks, but I amcomforted by my knowledge that I washere and that I loved this place.Taft doesn’t need to lead to anythingin order to have been worthwhile. Weleave behind the bricks and the pond andthe dorms and the people, but we takeTaft Bulletin Summer 200445

✵ Headmaster Willy MacMullen ’78 congratulatesvaledictorian Jason Lee ’04. Guest speaker Betsy Griffith and husband John Deardourff with their son J.D. ’04,and daughters Anne, Katie, and Meganwith us the signatures of an experiencethat can never be replicated. I am not referringto the quantitative knowledge thatwe have acquired here. Some of us mightremember the quadratic equation and therhyme scheme of a Petrarchan sonnet forthe rest of their lives, but I would assumethat the scattered bits of knowledge westudied so diligently have already begunslipping away into the land of the forgotten.The true signature of this place isinvisible, unreadable. It is written not inour minds but in our hearts.We enter this world like the first explorersof some unknown land, but aswe grow older, we begin drawing themaps that guide us for the rest of our lives.Every experience is like the discovery of anew mass of land or an ocean never seenbefore. There will always be blank spaceson our maps, but eventually as we becomewise navigators of this life, we learn to recognizeand understand the world aroundus. Taft has etched thick lines across ourtattered scrolls of parchment, lines that willnever fade. We might not remember wherethey came from, but they will continue toguide us all the same.WILLIAM R. MACMULLEN ’78, headmasterIt is impossible to look on this class andnot feel considerable respect and affectionfor it. In ways as mysterious asalchemy, the boys and girls combinedover the years to become a very closegroup—a family of sorts, with greatloves, minor squabbles, healthy rivalries,and immense loyalty.They also found ways to affirm ahope so simple and innocent in ourhyperactive and overscheduled age thatwe are close to forsaking it: that one’shigh school years—if on occasion tumultuous—shouldalso be fun. Taft is aplace of very hard work, but this classalso showed that it is a place of impromptufun and even downrightsilliness. I have news for parents. Taftwas not all work, despite what youheard, and that’s how it should be. Itwas a fun year.Spirit in an institution is a kind ofalchemy, and I am not smart enoughto figure out how these 156 seniorscombined to make the gold in the endthey have become. You need the schol-ars who blazed new light in theircourses; and the stubborn, challenging,tenacious social thinkers. You need artistsand musicians and you need peoplecommitted to bringing the stage to life.You need athletes and teams—seniorswho will leave a long legacy of competitiveness,and more importantly,spirit, class, and humility.You need leadership, and we wereblessed. Coaches talked of captains whoinspired teams; dorm heads spoke ofmonitors up late at night counselingyounger students, and I watched withthe deepest, deepest respect as AndrewEisen and the school monitors fundamentallyset the course of the school,wrestled with essential ethical dilemmasin our Tuesday meetings or in marathondiscipline committees, and gave ofthemselves unselfishly as they organizedevents all year.They had some help from a facultyto whom we owe an enormous debt.These are the men and women who havemolded your children literally every46Taft Bulletin Summer 2004

✶ COMMENCEMENT 2004PHOTOS: HIGHPOINT PICTURES Class speaker Octavia Giovannini-Torelli ’04 with her family Director of Admissions Ferdie Wandelt’66 presents Eugenia Saunders with theHarley Roberts Scholarship. Eugenia alsoreceived the Class of 1981 Award.hour of every day, in dorms, classrooms,offices, fields, and apartments. They arethe best in the business.There may be much mystery behindwhat happened this year, but there alsois a simple truth: Something remarkablehappens when a student aching to growencounters a committed faculty memberat a great school.And this I have been thinkingeven more as our nation marked the50th anniversary of Brown v. Board ofEducation. A few weeks ago, historyteacher Tom Fritz spoke at MorningMeeting about the court ruling andshowed photographs and movie clips,and I kept thinking this: What a neededthing is education, as much as the airwe breathe. What a powerful thing thedesire for learning can be. Never, evershould we take a good education forgranted, nor fail to realize the collectivepower of inspired students.It was hard not to feel that whenyou saw the dangerous railroad terminalthird-grader Linda Brown had tocross to get to her inferior school, or thesad, brave face of Earnest Green, one ofthe “Little Rock Nine,” as he walkedthrough the gauntlet of jeering spectators,or six-year-old Ruby Bridgesescorted by federal agents past a tomatosplattered wall—an image NormanRockwell would capture in his paintingThe Problem We All Live With. I thoughtof those brave boys and girls, and youcould not help but realize the passionfor learning, the insatiable hunger foreducation.And regardless of what we think ofthe complex legacy of that court ruling,there is something else that court decisiontold us: that schools are institutionsof awesome latent power.More than any other institution—more perhaps than the federalgovernment, more than the SupremeCourt—schools, they said implicitly,shape a society. Schools serve as catalysts,forces of change for the good. Andteachers—all of us pragmatic idealists—think in these terms; and on a day likethis believe it more than ever.John Dewey, one of the most importantthinkers of the 20th century,knew this. In 1934 in Democracy inEducation he wrote of the mission ofAmerican schools. Creating an educatedpopulace was only a superficial goal, hesaid. Educating for change was a higherone. A society that not only changes butalso has the ideal of such change as willimprove it, he wrote, “will have differentstandards and methods of educationfrom one which aims simply at the perpetuationof its own customs.” This mayexplain the fact that our standards hereare different than at many schools, asthey should be. We hope that this classwill become leaders who make changesfor the better.Taft Bulletin Summer 200447

E N D N O T ESOME THOUGHTS ON THECreative ProcessAND THE FATE OF ARTIFACTSBy Steve Schieffelin“…who does have arightful claim to thesecreations and why, andthen to wrestle withconflicting attitudesabout the ownership ofideas, words, images,and the complexforms of individualcreative expression.”I am very grateful to have receivedlast year a Davis TravelFellowship, a generous grantwhich allowed me to explorehow much I didn’t know aboutthe worlds of classical Greeceand Italy, and almost immediatelybecame intrigued by aquestion that relates to the convictionsunderlying Taft’s honorcode—who owns the productsof thought, speech, and artisticexpression. On some levels, itdoesn’t seem difficult to determinewhat is mine, what isyours; what is theirs and what is ours; but as I observedhow many great architectural and artisticcreations passed into and out of the possession of asuccession of hands, I began to wonder who doeshave a rightful claim to these creations and why, andthen to wrestle with conflicting attitudes about theownership of ideas, words, images, and the complexforms of individual creative expression.To look at this question writ large, consider fora moment the Parthenon, the crowning glory ofAthens’s Acropolis and Pericles’s ambition—and whatmight have been called the golden fleecing of theDelian League, a confederation of Greek city-stateswhose treasury was appropriated to finance the construction.What I thought about as I walked amongthe scattered remains of the Parthenon, now only“a shadow of the magnitude” that dazzled PericleanGreece, was who deserves to have credit for, and controlover, this great wonder of the western world.Initially, could the Parthenon be claimed byPericles, whose inspiration, initiative, and tirelesscompulsion ordered these magnificent cultural artifactsinto being? Or did it belong to Pheidias, thephenomenal sculptor and master-builder, and the innumerableartists and artisans who realized insculpture, architecture, painting, and metalwork theglorious conception in Pericles’s mind? Or couldn’twe say that this cultural icon belongs as much to theDelian League, whose pocket was picked by PericlesBRAND X PICTURESfor the realization of his otherwiseimpossibly grand design?Or did it belong to the Olympiangods, to whom it wasdedicated and for whom it wasbuilt. Furthermore, when Spartafinally dominated over Athens in404 B.C., putting an end to thePeloponnesian War and obtainingcomplete control over thecity, did Sparta then have rightfulpossession of the marvelousart on the Acropolis? Was itSparta’s to claim and dispose ofas it wished?The enormous statue to Athena, which thesanctuary of the Parthenon was created to house inthe first place, was ripped off by the Turks and takento Constantinople in A.D. 426 , where it eventuallydisappeared. Did Athena, one of the Seven Wondersof the Ancient World, belong to the ByzantineEmpire because it was powerful enough to take it,and did the Turks have the right to strip it, melt itdown, and reduce it to a memory?Eventually—after an incredible misfortune in1647, when the Turks were using the Parthenon as amunitions dump and it was blown up in an attack—this remarkable creation seemed to be of little valueto the Turks, the Spartans, the Athenians, the DelianLeague, or the gods themselves. But there was aneven more ignominious fate awaiting this renownedmonument. In the latter part of the 18th centurywhen the Turks continued to have dominion overGreece and its properties, they had fallen into thepractice of taking marble from the Parthenon andputting it into furnaces to convert it into lime, fromwhich they could make cement for building. LordElgin, an ambassador to Turkey from England, noticedthis desecration of Greek art and, having a lordlyambition to decorate his estate in Scotland withGreek statues and artifacts, requested the right tosalvage some of these works; and the Turkish authorities,figuring that they would benefit from goodrelations with the British and having scant regard48 Taft Bulletin Summer 2004

E N D N O T E“The [Sistine Chapel]ceiling he produced isan unimaginableachievement of creativegenius and artisticvirtuosity, but he neverwanted to take up theproject, repeatedlywanted to abandon it,and would never havecompleted it if Juliushadn’t shaken the fistof God in his face.”for the Greek art anyway, gladly permitted him tocart off more than 300 chests containing freestandingand relief sculptures from the Parthenon.Consequently, Lord Elgin felt self-righteous aboutsaving this irreplaceable cultural heritage at the sametime that he seized possession of these creations tobe integrated into a creation of his own. Later hewilled these marble sculptures to the British Museum,where you can still see them today. Some peoplecredit Lord Elgin for saving these marbles, others,especially the Greeks after they had achieved independence,curse him for stealing them. I’m not surewho has the most compelling claim to these creations.But the piles of disordered and fragmented marble Isaw scattered around the colossal wreck of theParthenon last summer were ample evidence for methat time and circumstance have a firmer grip onartistic creations than all the patrons, artists, conquerors,and governments together. During the Italian Renaissance, Michelangelo wascompelled by Pope Julius II to paint the SistineChapel ceiling when Michelangelo would rather havebeen sculpting the magnificent tomb that Julius hadcommissioned long before he thought of remodelingthe Sistine Chapel. When Julius cut off thefunds for the tomb, Michelangelo returned home toFlorence in a spastic rage of artistic defiance. But thepapal staff was mightier than the sculptor’s chisel,and Julius sent a couple celestial constables to arrestMichelangelo and bring him back into the service ofthe pope. Michelangelo protested like a student withthree tests on the same day, but Julius would notallow him to do what he wanted; instead, he forcedhim to spend the next four years of his life paintingin fresco, with which he was inexperienced, a veryhigh, architecturally complex, and expansive ceilingthat he regarded as an endless affliction. The ceilinghe produced is an unimaginable achievement of creativegenius and artistic virtuosity, but he neverwanted to take up the project, repeatedly wanted toabandon it, and would never have completed it ifJulius hadn’t shaken the fist of God in his face. Moreover,the subject matter of these paintings was initiallydictated to Michelangelo by the pope and his theologicaladvisers; but when Michelangelo complainedabout how dull the pope’s conception was and howmuch more spectacular his vision would be, Juliusallowed Michelangelo to collaborate with papal advisersto produce a dramatic representation ofcharacters and events from the Old Testament whichwere thematically coherent and spiritually enlightening,with five sibyls from pagan mythology thrownin for good measure. And many of the ideas thatwere embodied in the fresco came from other Renaissanceartists and philosophers.When the scaffolding of this celebrated ceilingwas taken down on Halloween 1512, who did itbelong to? Historically, there was no question: it wascalled for many years “the Pope’s Ceiling,” and evena contemporary book by Ross King identifies it thisway. But most of you, I believe, have heard of theSistine Chapel in connection with Michelangelo,and may be clueless about Julius II. And eventhough Julius conceived of the project, financed it,compelled the artist to undertake and finish it, anddetermined (with the advice of others) what its contentwould be, don’t you think that Michelangelo,without whose extraordinary artistic talent the ceilingwould never have been realized, has as muchright to claim the ceiling as Julius? And where didthe funds come from to produce this prodigiouscreation? From the dutiful offerings of devoutChristians, and the plunder of some unchristianpapal wars which we don’t need to go into.Perhaps the people of Rome and Italy have ashare in the ownership of this invaluable art. Andfinally some of you may be aware of the rabid controversysurrounding the restoration of the SistineChapel in the 1980s that had art historians and representativesof the Vatican and the Italian governmentall foaming at the mouth. What 20th-centuryauthority had the right to decide how to treatMichelangelo’s or Julius’s frescos? To whom did thisart belong in 1981, and are there any limits to whatthe owner can do with this internationally prizedartwork? For that matter, can the Vatican decide todayto tear the roof right off and put up somethingmore suitable to modern taste. That, incidentally, ishow Michelangelo’s ceiling got painted in the firstplace—the pope didn’t like the previous paintingof the vaulted ceiling as a starry heaven, done byD’Amelia, so down it came. So many factors contribute to the inspiration,conceptualization, and realization of art that it isimpossible to separate original creation from a widerange of influences. Any artificial creation, engenderedin the human heart and head and born ofhuman hands, is such a complex collaboration thatit is very hard to know what is yours and what isnot. The creative act itself is a mystery with so manydimensions and connections that we cannot understandit, explain it, or control it. And even whena conception has been given palpable form in language,painting, sculpture, architecture (whatevermedium), ownership is still often a matter of irreconcilabledispute. I have come to understand thatnothing human beings make comes out of nothing,even though the origins of a creation may be impossibleto trace, and nothing is ours for long. Now Isympathize even more with those inquiring studentswho are sincerely puzzled by our attempts to explainwhat Taft means by “original work” and our effortto distinguish one person’s creation from another’sin the interests of academic honesty.Taft Bulletin Summer 200449

Taft BulletinThe Taft SchoolWatertown, CT 06795-2100860-945-7777www.TaftAlumni.comChange Service RequestedNon-profit Org.U.S. PostagePAIDPermit No. 101Burl., VT 05401Notice: Postal regulations require the school to pay70 cents for every copy not deliverable as addressed.Please notify us of any change of address, givingboth the new and old addresses. You may e-mailchanges to TaftRhino@TaftSchool.org.