Summer Postcard - 2011

To the Great Class of 1969:

Main Street

As you can see from the photo, courtesy of John Knight '83, this past week was a reminder that New England is not immune to the effects of hurricanes at this time of year. While the Lower Level was flooded to the top of the goalposts, the campus was otherwise spared. The Deerfield Inn was less fortunate, and is closed until further notice.

As for the Academy, it will open its doors next week for the start of its 213^th year. According to the fact sheet on the school’s website, this year's students will come from 39 states and 31 foreign countries. Of the 2,355 applicants, 13% were admitted, and 65% of those admitted had the good sense to accept. Parents of boarding students will be asked to pay $47,470 in tuition and fees this year which, I would note for the curious, represents a 10% discount to the cost of attending Harvard ($52,650).

Class News

Todd Stone

With the 10^th anniversary of 9/11 only days away, it is timely to recognize Todd Stone who, as any reader of this blog knows, has dedicated his life’s work since then to creating an enduring visual record of lower Manhattan through his paintings. Todd has lived downtown for many years in a loft which, until two years ago, had a view of the World Trade Center site. When that view was lost as a result of construction, Todd found space for his studio on the vacant 48^th Floor of the newly constructed 7 World Trade Center where he has been able to continue painting the rebuilding of the former site of the Twin Towers. Over the course of the summer, Todd has shared his work in seven separate showings aimed at distinct constituencies. Rusty Young and Peter Bernstein (the latter freshly back from China) were able to attend the opening on July 27^th, and I followed up on a perfect evening two weeks later at a reception for downtown residents. Rusty was effusive in his description of Todd’s work and the event in an e-mail to me following the opening likening Todd to a rock star. The Huffington Post described the venue as “the City’s most amazing art studio” and included a video clip of an interview with Todd. Bloomberg Radio also interviewed Todd.

As some of you with longer memories may recall, I mentioned in March 2007 that Howie Carr had written a New York Times bestseller entitled The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorized and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter Century. With the capture in June of Whitey Bulger, #1 on the FBI’s Most Wanted List after the killing of OBL, sales of Howie’s book fortuitously jumped 26% on Amazon within 24 hours, producing an unexpected windfall. Howie was interviewed on a number of programs, including ABC’s “Good Morning America”. Here’s a link to the clip.

Five years following the sale of the National Stock Exchange which he headed, David Colker appears to have found a new gig that will enable him to pursue his musical interests. The Grace Music Theater, a 520 seat, two story building in Evanston, is being developed by David and was approved by the local zoning board in August. David said the new theater would provide a "state-of-the-art music performance space" and would be a "dramatic addition to public life downtown.”

Another entrepreneurial classmate who recently launched a new venture is Rusty Young. After rubbing shoulders with entertainers for the past five years as CEO of The Count Basie Foundation, Rusty has co-founded MusicWorks Entertainment which will be in the business of promoting and presenting benefit shows for both national and local non-profits.

One addition to the blog I hope will be of interest is a link on the right to YouTube videos of various classmates. Besides some clips mentioned in previous posts, you will find a humorous recounting of the origin of the Blarney Stone by Brian Connery.

Best wishes to all.

DWS