Friends’ Weekend <strong>2012</strong>Of Special NoteThe prodigious efforts of organizer extraordinaire Liz Macken (CTT 75-77, TTW 78-79) resulted in an impressive showing for a minireunion of Treetops campers and counselors from 1975-79. Liz’s deft (and tireless) handling of social media drew more than 60 CTTfriends and family members from all over the country. The gathering included Brian Bronfman (CTT 72-78, staff 87), the driving forceseveral years ago behind construction of Hubbard Lean-to, named for his friend Bryan Hubbard (CTT 72-77, TTW 78-79) who died atage 31 from an undiagnosed heart condition. Also on hand were Susie and Jasmine Hubbard, who joined the ’70s CTT group for theirfirst-ever time on campus and emotional but upbeat visit to the lean-to that honors their husband and dad.Remembering Reg GilliamOn Saturday afternoon, dozens of friends gathered in the Pavilion to honor the life of Reg Gilliam (CTT 55-58, counselor 61-67,trustee 71-75). His life-long friend Reggie Govan (CTT 66-67, counselor 74-81, trustee 01-08) opened the informal service and spokeof Reg’s storied career, trailblazing advocacy, and dedication as an educator and mentor. For more than an hour, friend after friendrose to share well-remembered stories of friendship, humor, and leadership, as well as admiration for Reg’s many accomplishments—physical, intellectual, societal—that defined a life of service. Many spokeof Reg’s abiding love of the mountains, born at Treetops, and the peace heand wife Arleen knew from their cabin on the shoulder of Porter.Erika Rosenfeld (CTT 56-62) could not attend Friends’ Weekend but sentus the following memory that seems a fitting tribute to Reg’s enduringinfluence:The summer I was 13—my last at Treetops and Reggie Gilliam’s secondas counselor—Reggie and Bud Lovett led the Seward Range trip—notrails, all blow-down, a fairly miserable slog leavened by Reggie’ssardonic wit. (“Hi, hiker! You are climbing trail-less Seward.”) Wespent the first night up top (Seymour, I think), freezing and huddlinglike puppies around the fire. Whenever more wood was needed, Reggiewould tell me to fetch it. “Why is it always me?” I asked (being astandard-issue whiny teenager). “Because I know you’ll do it,” saidReggie. Even then, I understood that this was a compliment and achallenge. I know I keep trying never to let Reggie down.For more about Reg’s life and career, see In Memoriam (p. 38). And tolearn about the Reginald Gilliam Mountaineering Leadership Endowment,established by his wife Arleen and other friends to benefit NCS andTreetops, please visit www.nct.org/reggilliam.page 25 Organic Roots <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
Connectionand CollegialityReflections on a Career at NCSBy Christine LeFevre, as told to Lisa RowleyChristine LeFevre, known to many as Ciel (French for sky anda homonym of her initials, C.L.) retired from her position asadmissions director on August 31, <strong>2012</strong>. Having left and returnedmore than once, her exact tenure at NCS is hard to calculate; shebegan as a teacher and houseparent in the fall of 1984 (unless youcount the house cleaning she did during the spring and summerbefore that). She was away for one year twice during the ’80sand for several years during the late ’90s but returned to directadmissions for good when Hock became head of school in 1999.In her 20-some years here, Ciel taught French and English,gave clarinet lessons, ran the library, lived as a houseparent inMountain, Bramwell, and Balcony Houses, and shepherdedhundreds of families through NCS in her admissions work.Among colleagues she is prized for her insight and guidance,upbeat outlook, and unshakable belief in kids.About a month prior to her departure, I sat down with Christine totalk about her time at NCS. After a quick outline of how I thoughtthe interview would go, Ciel nodded her head in agreement andthought silently for a moment. Then she simply began.Ciel: I took a very interesting workshoplast summer about the difference betweenwriting biography and memoirs. And thedifference is: with biography you have tostart at the beginning, but with a memoiryou can start anywhere you want. As ithappens, the subject of how I got startedin admissions came up just the other day.It was 1989, and I was teaching Frenchand living in Bramwell House whenJulia Jonathan [then admissions directorand current trustee] said to me one day:“Would you be interested in going toCalifornia during the summer?” She hadsome families to see, but she was looking tomove out of admissions. I thought, “Sure,why not?” So I went and thought it wasgreat, and a short while after that Roger[Loud, then head of school] called me upand asked if I wanted to do admissions.That was it. And it was the same when Ifirst started teaching here.That was in 1984. My daughter Jenny was astudent here from 1980-84. During Jenny’slast year, in October of 1983, my partnerSusan [Patnode, former NCS teacher andhouseparent] and I moved from Seattle toLake Placid. We moved without a clearplan about what would happen next, whichwas not an unusual occurrence in my life.(Later I wrote an article for Organic Rootscalled, “Why I followed my daughter toNCS.”) By December we were running aguest house in Lake Placid. It had a bigkitchen, so we could have Jenny’s houseover to our place for homenights, and wewere on campus a fair amount visiting.So one day we were on campus just beforethe April board meeting, and Gladys[Straight, longtime laundress] camerunning over. The cleaners had quit, thetrustees were coming, and she begged us,“Won’t you please clean the houses beforethe board meeting?”So we did that for a time—you get a veryinteresting perspective on things whenyou work as a custodian. Then we paintedCamp buildings and the Glass Housekitchen—Tsu Hansen [former teacher,houseparent, and business manager] hadeverything color-coded. Then one dayRoger called. He’d heard we had priorteaching experience, and he had openingsin sixth grade and in French. So I startedthe 1984 school year teaching Frenchand living in Mountain House, and Susantaught sixth grade.Our coming here was the product of thetime and the evolution of NCS. This hasalways been a school that embraces uniquepeople who are willing to find their ownplace. One of the great things about NCS isflexibility; people are allowed to discovertheir strengths, and if you can find yourniche, you can move into different areashere.Photo: Ciel in her office with two of her Victory Chickens, given to her every time she hit her enrollment target.Her large flock includes prints, cards, pillows, and chickens made of wood, ceramic, and metal.www.nct.org 518.523.9329 page 26
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