AndoverMagSpring2015

stay connected...Here’s a snippet from his Christmas letter, and, my,his children are growing:“We haven’t figured it out yet. Understandingthe meaning of life, that is. But we’ve had anotheryear blessed with good health, adventures, andhelp from our friends & family.“This summer, the kids spent a month on thefarm in Sharon [Conn.]. Conrad drove the truckthrough the fields, Anna-Lee tended the flowergardens, and they both went to soccer camp atmy old school. My parents were enormouslyrelieved when we arrived to take them off theirhands (without my sister Mybl’s help, Anna-Leemay have been left tied to a tree for days...longstory). After Sharon, Anna-Lee and [wife] Tiffanyflew to France for a girls’ holiday with friends andsister, while Conrad and I loaded up on beer fora road trip to mooch off of friends with housesnear beaches. Conrad had to navigate using a realmap. We had the pleasure of watching 17 membersof the Ehrbar family fit into a three-bedroomhouse on the Cape. We flew kites, biked, andkayaked.” Christian Ehrbar, I’d love to hear yourstories from that vacation!In other great news, my down-the-road neighborRafael Lorente was appointed associate deanfor academic affairs at the University of Maryland’sMerrill College of Journalism, as of January2015. Here’s a short segment from the internalencomium that was forwarded upon his appointment:“Rafael has worked at Merrill College oneither a full-time or part-time basis since 2001. Inaddition to serving as the Washington bureau chieffor Capital News Service, Rafael has directed thecollege’s master’s program since 2013. He has demonstratedcreativity in course design and scheduling,compassionate but exacting teaching skills,and an ability to roll with the punches. I know hewill build on the respect and admiration he hasalready earned from his colleagues and studentsat Merrill College.”And New York-based Kimberly Guzowski isgetting increasing attention and traction with herTechnical Artisans Collaborative. She writes, “Idon’t know what your New Year’s wishes are, buttwo years ago I got into my head that it wouldbe a good idea to put designers, technicians, andartisans in the schools to help kids learn howto use their academics as tools with which tobuild, make, and create. Others thought it was agreat idea, so we founded a little company calledTechnical Artisans Collective. Two years later,over 1,000 kids have been taught by more than 50professional production designers, technicians,and artisans. The work has been hard, joyous,and run almost entirely by volunteers. Now thatwe know the education we are providing is solidand we are committed, TAC wants to grow intoa sustainable endeavor that will consistentlyput professionals from several disciplines inclassrooms working with teachers to providedynamic hands-on educational experiences thatwill reinforce academics and arts. We are applyingfor grants and paid schools contracts, but this is106 Andover | Spring 2015going to take time. Meanwhile, we are entirelydependent upon donations, which mostly comefrom the teachers ourselves.”Liz Collins reports that she had solo shows atAMP Gallery in Provincetown, Mass., and HellerGallery in NYC. She’s keeping busy doing art anddesign projects, as well as visiting artist and teachinggigs at art schools Pratt, Maryland InstituteCollege of Art, and School of the Art Institute ofChicago. She dreams of someday having an exhibitionat the Addison Gallery.Last, I am pleased to report that homeschoolingmom and Web business ownerRobin Crestwell Harris and I had a long, wonderfullunch last summer—the two 1985–1986Johnson North proctors reunited at last! If that’snot a harbinger of renewal, I can’t think of one!—Caroline1987David Kopans2 Princeton RoadArlington MA 02474-8238781-646-4515617-947-2454 (cell)dave@kopans.comFirst, some sad news. In October,Elizabeth Gilmore’s and Annie Gatewood’sfathers passed away. Both Hale Sturges and RobinCrawford were Andover institutions, and ourclass was so fortunate to be able to call Elizabethand Annie classmates. Although I never tookFrench or participated in the debate club, I doknow that many of you did, and certainly manymore know Annie and Elizabeth well. Please joinme in thinking of them and their families—andwhen you have a moment, please do reach outand reconnect.In a short e-mail exchange, Annie told me shespent a bittersweet weekend with Elizabeth andher son, Kai, when they came from Portland, Ore.,for Robin Crawford’s funeral, and that for Annie’sdad’s memorial service the French House gang,consisting of Kent Johnson, Tony Gellert, DanZeff ’88, Nick Chermayeff ’88, and HodgsonEckel ’88, as well as Caroline Cannon andToby Rodes, was in attendance.I really have no idea how to transition from thisbit of news, so I’ll just encourage you again to reachout to Annie and Elizabeth—and anyone else inthe class you have not really talked to in quite sometime. Life is short. Make it matter. Transition done.Oh, every one of my teachers who graced the hallsof Bulfinch are rolling eyes, I am sure. I am so sorry,Seth Bardo and Rev. Zaeder in particular.Annie also let me know that she had a surprisevisit from Rett Wallace at her annual pig roastand enjoyed a great dinner back in March withJohn Roegner and his partner, Simon. I luckilygot to hang out with her and husband BobGatewood, John Bush, Ruth Webb and husbandMatt Bellows ’86, and Dan Medwed and wifeSharissa Jones, as well as all of our kids (therewere a lot), at what we hope becomes an annualpre-Thanksgiving party. Perhaps the highlightof the evening for me was when John relayedinformation from a tiger-training lesson given tohim by Gunther Gebel-Williams. Very importantto know what to do when the chair does not work.Cindy Greene and family sent what is perhapsthe best holiday card of all time. To quote, “Totalsilliness.” We should all send such great cards.Cindy also sent me some fantastic news viae-mail about a get-together she had in honorof Liz Kenny Stein ’88, who came to Newton,Mass., from N.J. Delphine Mattison Morton,Sara Sullivan ’88, and Liza Poinier werethere in person, and Lista Lincoln,Suzy Vinciguerra Rosen, Callie Hershey,and Cynthia Pierce attended in spirit. Cindycontinues to volunteer and serve on the AndoverBread Loaf advisory board, and she reports that“it’s been interesting to get that slant on all that ishappening at PA.”I had the good pleasure of hanging out withTravis “El Presidente” Metz, Steve Hopkins,and Jopi Schluep ’88 in upstate N.Y. A terrifictime. Caught more big fish on the Ausable thanBarry Crume ’88 dreams about in his wildestlavender dreams. Plus, Travis got to show offhis hand-carved walking stick, complete withdetailed Harvard logo and perfect likeness ofhim at Henley. Who knew that Tony Gellertcould whittle? Amazing work, Tony, and such athoughtful gift. Travis is putting it to good use.Ian Davis and I had a nice correspondence, inwhich Ian reported he is “still living in Andoverand still running Rockstar Games’ New Englandstudio.” These are the Grand Theft Auto V folks, incase you don’t know your video-game studios.When not building video games, Ian reports,he plays in the weekly Andover faculty and staffbasketball game on the varsity court. Ian writesthat he specializes in “being the grouchy old guywho fouls a lot” and that the “other people inthe game don’t understand how traumatizing itis to play on that court, where the SATs and allthe final exams and midterms were.” Brings backmemories, doesn’t it? Apparently, according toIan, they don’t give tests in the gym anymore.What a shame and, I must say, a horrible kick inthe face to a traumatizing tradition.Ian asked me to pause for a moment in thenotes and shout out an apology to the associatedean of admission. Seems Ian shattered thefellow’s ankle while competing with him for arebound (sorry, KG, says Ian!).Last, Ian relayed, “I was much heartened lastsummer when the summer school teachersarrived and I saw this one old guy with moregray hair than I standing there, and I thought,‘I’ll guard him.’ I jumped in the game and postedup on him and guarded him. Five minutes in, Istill hadn’t gotten a good look at his face, but Iintroduced myself. He said his name was Jon, and