School News
The fall term ends today, and the joy on Albany Road will be palpable. For a change, final exams were dispensed with this term. I'm not sure about the underlying logic, however, you need not be concerned that the Academy is letting the current generation wimp out. I have it on good authority that the teachers all tried outdoing themselves with their assignments, thereby making this term even more challenging than last year when there still were exams.
The current issue of The Scroll arrived this week and was dedicated to the election. While there was no mock election this year, there was much discussion about the election in classes, and The Scroll endorsed Obama. For a sense of how the mindset has changed since we roamed the campus our senior year, the results of a mock election in October 1968 were: Nixon 50%, Humphrey 38% and Wallace 12%.
For the sports-minded, varsity football improved its record to 6-2, losing only to Andover and to Hotchkiss. The team was more dominant than its record indicated since the average margin of victory was 28 points. The team managed to avenge last year’s loss to Choate with a convincing 31-7 win in the rain at Wallingford despite the fact that Choate had a member of the Deerfield Class of '08 as a PG. Boys Water Polo capped off an excellent season earlier this month by winning the New England Championship meet at Exeter.
Class News
Since I last wrote, Ed Grosvenor has joined Howie Carr and perhaps others in the Class who have earned recognition in Wikipedia. Earlier this month, Howie was one of eight broadcasters inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Chicago. You can catch Howie from 3:00-7:00 weekday afternoons on WRKO 680 in Boston. If you’re a little further south on I-95, you might tune in to WPKN 89.5 and see if you can pick up occasional host Steve Morley’s eclectic program.Another change since I last wrote is that Todd Stone has updated his website where you can view his e-Gallery. Next month Todd will be displaying his work in an exhibition in Bucks County, PA where he and his family have had a weekend place for years.
When I last wrote, Rusty Young was in the midst of hosting a benefit concert by The Boss in advance of closing The Count Basie Theatre for the summer for renovations. The happy news is that the concert was a financial success and that the project was completed ahead of schedule and below budget. Rusty received recognition for his efforts in The New York Times earlier this month.
As I mentioned in my posting last June, Steve Esthimer released his CD When Cousins Marry several months ago, and it has received recognition in the UNC alumni magazine. Despite his newfound fame and fortune, Steve has advised me that he is not giving up his daytime job at Saint Mary’s where he has taught for more than 25 years. Another teacher in our class, Dave Suitor, was cited in the St. Mark’s School Newsletter this fall for his multi-media presentation to the school on the current global economic crisis, helping students understand what a Depression is and how such conditions develop.
On November 4th, Tom Merrigan was re-elected to the Governor’s Council for the 8th District of Massachusetts. Tom received 90,000 more votes than he did in 2006 and a greater percentage of the votes than the top of the Democratic ticket.
Sandy Weissent is in Ft. Myers, FL this week where he and the Windy City Fire baseball team are defending their national championship in the Roy Hobbs 55 and over tournament. Last month they finished second in the MSBL World Series in Phoenix. When not displaying his business turnaround skills or obvious baseball prowess, Sandy has led the Harvard Club’s Adopt-A-School effort and enlisted Harvard graduates and their friends to support the Walter Payton College Prep High School on the near north side of Chicago where one-third of the population lives at poverty level in its mission of “providing every student an educational experience that instills integrity and a lifelong love of learning” and the motto “We Nurture Leaders.” Good luck, Sandy, and remember to "Finish strong"!
On December 6, Charlie Olchowski has organized a home brewed beer competition in Old Deerfield. You can find the rules on the Valley Fermenters website. As you know from my prior postings, we also have a vintner in our class, Hank Wetzel, who runs family-owned Alexander Valley Vineyards. AVV produces 100,000 cases of varietal wines and proprietary blends annually. Seventy-five percent of AVV’s production is red wine. Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon constitute over one-third of total production.
The Reunion
In the event that you are in a state of denial that our 40th Reunion is on the horizon, you should know that since I last wrote Tom Ehrgood has agreed to serve as Program Chair. Mimi Morsman organized a conference call earlier this week to discuss the topic for the Saturday Class panel. John Lacey, as Attendance Chair, is developing a plan to ensure that we have a robust turnout. Please mark your calendars for June 12-14, and take advantage of the advance registration price break by clicking on the link to Deerfield Reunions beginning December 3.
Best wishes to all for a Happy Thanksgiving. I look forward to seeing you next June at our 40th.
DWS
