Volunteers' Weekend

Members of the Class of 1969:

Having just returned from Volunteers’ Weekend, I am interested in updating the School’s records in the hope of improving our communication and would be grateful if you could help by providing contact information for anyone of our missing classmates listed below. In addition, if you are in touch with any classmates who you see are not included on this e-mail, please forward their e-mail addresses to me so that I can add them to my distribution list.

Doug Collins
Bill Guthrie
Jay Hand
John Harding
Clint Hart
Reese Howard
Tee Johnson
Todd Johnson
Dave Kahn
Hugh Lawrence
Dennis Mitchell
John Moore
Phil Poirier
John Updike
Kim White
Scott Williams

As always, the school is interested in finding out what its alumni are up to. In that regard, I thought you might be interested to know that you can read information about our class – as well as other classes – by going to Deerfield Alumni and, after logging in, selecting the Class Notes link on the left. If you have information on what you’ve been up to which you would like to have added to the site, include it in an e-mail to Class Notes.

For those of you who haven’t been back to the School recently, there have been quite a few physical changes to the campus:

The Science Math and Technology Building, known as the Koch Center, is rising in the outfield where the “old” science building c. 1972 once stood. If you want to track its progress, go to the Koch Center website which includes a webcam and information about this landmark facility which will set Deerfield apart from the rest of its peer schools.

The baseball field has been re-oriented so that home plate is now down toward Barton.

Hitchcock has been painted red and now serves as the bookstore. Can anyone remember if we even had a bookstore?

Across the street from Hitchcock is the Harold Webster Smith dorm which looks like it’s been there as long as its neighbor, John Williams.

Ephraim Williams has, since 1999, served as the Alumni/Faculty House, and the Headmaster has decamped to The Manse, on the east side of Main Street

The east side of campus, where 70% of the students now live, is full of new brick dorms designed by David Childs ’59 whose current work, in addition to the Koch Center, includes Freedom Tower at Ground Zero.

The all-weather tennis courts now number 18, down from 24, and have been moved closer to the gym. The soccer field that was between the gym and the courts is now on the far side of the courts.

The Natatorium, another gift of David Koch ’58 designed by David Childs, is a spectacular facility which was completed in ’95. The old pool has been filled in and now is a multi-use room for everything from dances to wrestling matches, courtesy of Henry Kravis.

Other classmates who returned for the Reunion last June may remember other changes. For those of you who would like to see how some of us have held up over the past 35 years, go to Deerfield 2004 where Chris Liipfert has posted some Reunion photos.

I encourage you to reacquaint yourselves, if you haven’t done so, by visiting Deerfield Academy. We are all part of an incredible school that is moving confidently into the future while preserving the best of its past.

Be well.