To the Great Class of 1969:
News
of the Academy
School let out for summer vacation today. As has been the pattern for some years, the
senior class has been long gone, having received their diplomas last Sunday at
Deerfield’s 213th Commencement.
The year-end issue of The Scroll reported that more than 50 members of the Class of 2012
will be moving on to Ivy League schools in the fall. For the class as a whole, the most popular universities were
Yale and Princeton, each of which will matriculate ten graduates. The most popular liberal arts college was
Davidson which attracted six graduates.
On the Lower Level this spring, Boys Varsity
Lacrosse compiled a 14-2 record, the highlight of which was an overtime victory
against Salisbury, the only all-boys team on the schedule and the fifth best
team nationally. The losses, each by a
single goal, were at the hands of Trinity-Pawling and Lawrenceville, neither of
which, judging from their records, measured up to Deerfield.
News
of the Class
Neil
Jacobs took up residence in Hitchcock House this term and
taught courses in Ethics and Virtue, two related subjects which date back at
least to Socrates. Neil joined Hale
& Dorr, the predecessor of WilmerHale, in 1977 where he specializes in employment
and labor law.
Ed
Grosvenor, the editor in chief of American
Heritage Magazine, also returned to Deerfield this
term. In his case, it was to receive the
annual President’s Award from the Historic Deerfield museum for his work
supporting and promoting an interest in and the study of American History. Ed muses that the reason he was admitted to
Deerfield was that the Headmaster’s favorite history teacher at Amherst was
Prof. Edwin Grosvenor for whom Ed was named.
Steve
Esthimer, who joined the faculty of St. Mary’s School in Raleigh, NC after completing his
Masters in 1979, received the school’s Teacher of the Year Award. Steve is Chair of the Humanities and Social Sciences
Department and, in his spare time, a guitarist in the band When
Cousins Marry.
The Alabama Tourism Department launched “The Year
of Alabama Food” in January. The
culinary campaign cites the pimento cheese sandwich on sun-dried tomato bread at
Savage’s
Bakery in Homewood as one of “100 Dishes to Eat in
Alabama before You Die”. Van Scott, who has owned Savage’s Bakery since 1978, talked
about his business in this video
interview in March.
Christopher
Beach continues to enjoy success as President and
Artistic Director of the La Jolla Music
Society where he has managed to balance the budget while
expanding offerings. In April the LJMS
announced an ambitious program for the 2012-13 season which will include
performances by three of the most famous ballet companies in the world, an
expansion of its core chamber music program, and a series featuring up and
coming pianists.
Rusty
Young’s new venture MusicWorks
Entertainment is off to a fast start, having
already booked more than 20 live music events since its founding less than a
year ago.
Trivia
Question
As everyone knows, Frank Henry is one of the longest serving members of the Deerfield
faculty. Who else in the Class besides Neil Jacobs has worked at Deerfield?
Money
Matters
Imagine
Deerfield moved $8 million closer to its $200 million goal
this term, and now stands at $113 million according to the website.
For those members of the Class who contribute to
Annual Support each year but who have not done so yet, please remember that the
fiscal year ends on June 30th. I have
been told by John Kjorlien that we are well short of our participation goal but I know, based on
past experience, that we can meet expectations with a strong finish. Here’s a link for the well-intentioned which
will spare you a follow-up e-mail or call.
Time to fire up the BBQ and enjoy the summer. Classes begin again on September 10th.
Best wishes to all.
DWS
