Fall Term Report Card

To the Grand Class of 1969:

News of the Academy

By all appearances, the Academy returned to normalcy this term. Students were required to be vaccinated, and masks were not required. Sit down meals and interscholastic sports resumed, and the Thanksgiving break will not be extended as it was last year. One pandemic-induced change that seems permanent is that the school day now consists of three 90-minute sessions as opposed to seven 45-minute periods with the dual objective of providing greater engagement and a more intensive learning experience.  

On the Lower Level, Varsity Football continued a revival of the program that began to take shape in 2019 after a lost decade at the hands of Choate. In what would have been the centennial game of the rivalry but for the cancellation of interscholastic games last fall, Deerfield easily defeated Choate 50-26 and finished the season 8-1. The only loss this fall was to Loomis Chafee in an away game. From a quick glance at the roster, many members of this year's winning team will be back next year.

Another item worth noting is that the Class of 1970 finally got to celebrate its 50th reunion in person last weekend. I was told about 50 attended but I doubt their experience matched the buzz of past classes under the Great Tent or that a swim in the River in November held the same allure as it would have in June. 

News of the Class

While many of us have retired by now, some classmates have embraced e-commerce and created attractive websites to market their offerings. Read on for a sampling.

As I first mentioned in 2015, retirement allowed Tim Truby to turn an avocation for travel and photography into a fulltime pursuit. Although COVID-19 put a temporary hold on travel, he did manage to get back on the road and spent time this year in the Faroe Islands off of Denmark and the Dolomites in Italy, two of his favorite spots. Tim also lined up an exhibition of his work at bG Gallery in Santa Monica in June. Since I first commented on Tim's work, he upgraded his website where you can view (and purchase) his photos. 

The twentieth observance of 9/11 was a particularly solemn remembrance in New York and elsewhere. As part of the commemoration, the NYC Culture Club at the Oculus in the World Trade Center featured a solo exhibition of Renewal, the work of Todd Stone. Todd has substantially revamped his website where you can view (and purchase) his work.

Hurricane Ida was unkind to Ed Grosvenor in September when torrential rains flooded his home in Rockville, MD and ruined archival materials of American Heritage. You can read about it in the WaPo and, if you would like to help out, you can contribute to American Heritage which is a 501(c)(3) by going here. Alternatively, if you would prefer to buy a copy of a black and white photo from our era, you can visit Ed's SmugMug site where Ed has organized most of the photos he took in his three years at Deerfield. 

After an 18-month hiatus due to COVID-19, Rusty Young is back in business and has scheduled concerts in eleven different cities in Florida this season. If you're in Florida and are game, you can book an event here.

Our son (Deerfield '09) celebrated his wedding one year after the pandemic-induced, family-only legal ceremony. I was pleased to see that his Deerfield education had paid off when I surveyed the couple's wine selections and saw that they had selected a Cabernet from Alexander Valley Vineyards. When I passed this along to Hank Wetzel, he confirmed their excellent judgment and indicated that this year's harvest had produced a small, but high quality crop. You can view Hank's offerings by visiting his online store (after verifying that you are of legal drinking age).

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

DWS

Jere Urban (1951-2021)

Rat Patrol 50 Years Later

David Chittim shared with me the sad news that Jere Urban had passed away, less than two years after our 50th Reunion and only four months after receiving a cancer diagnosis.

Jere, along with Bernstein, Marx, Stone and myself, came from Scarsdale, a NYC suburb which attracts families on account of its excellent public schools. None of us chose to return after graduating, and the three of us still living all spent our careers in NYC. That was not Jere's choice who embraced a more low key rural lifestyle. Jere attended the 50th, and I'm glad I suggested the Rat Patrol pose for a reprise of the photo in our yearbook. The notice below is from the local newspaper.

MONKTON — Jere Urban, 70, passed away due to pancreatic cancer on March 15, 2021, on the hillside in Monkton where he and his wife Robin Shalline, his love of 45 years, built their own home, raised a family, and cultivated a beautiful life together. In front of him was the fireplace his friend Phil had built; behind him were the Adirondacks, the first place he felt home, and a place that would call him back for adventures throughout his life. Surrounding him were his dear loved ones.

Jere grew up outside of New York City with two older sisters, Alix and Xenia, and their adventurous parents, Jerome and Xenia. His family made frequent fishing, canoeing and hiking trips to the Adirondacks, where Jere forged a deep connection with nature, especially water.

During his younger years, Jere found joy in athletics. His grit, heart, and quick thinking on the field would continue to be qualities that others appreciated in him and that he developed throughout his life. He attended Deerfield Academy where, like many young people during the ’60s, Jere felt ambivalent about his place in the world, but also appreciated the opportunity for an excellent education.

Following high school, Jere continued to explore his sometimes unconventional interests. At age 18, to his father’s dismay, Jere drove his mom’s pink Cadillac to the Woodstock music festival. Although his parents expected him to pursue a medical career at St. Lawrence University, Jere grew interested in learning practical homesteading skills. Living in a farmhouse with friends, Jere kept goats, hayed fields, repaired cars, made dandelion wine, and found more courage to be himself.

Upon graduation, Jere hitchhiked from New York to Alaska. In typical Jere fashion, he had a wild idea and went for it. Venturing down the Yukon River with hitchhikers he’d met along the way, Jere scavenged wood from an old sawmill and fashioned a raft, floating 300 miles through the Canadian wilderness. The group ate well, fishing for grayling and trading Molson for moose meat. A lasting image from that trip is of hearing the roar of rapids up ahead as they approached the U.S. border at midnight.

Despite finding great adventure, time in the wilderness revealed a longing for community and relationships. Jere returned to the East Coast, landing among like-minded people at the Kingsland Bay School in Ferrisburgh, Vt., an experiment in community living and holistic education, where he worked as a house parent and teacher. There he met the love of his life, Robin. The story goes that Robin was leaving on a road trip to Maine, and on a whim invited Jere. He was game (and already an admirer). What could have been a seven hour trip turned into thirteen as the two made stops for beachcombing, picking up hitchhikers, and falling in love. It was the beginning of a life together full of adventure and spontaneity.

At Kingsland Bay, Jere developed his skills in helping young people. He enrolled in UVM’s graduate program in Counseling and this became his life’s work. Jere recognized his privilege and harnessed it to elevate the lives of those without similar opportunities. He brought this spirit of service to work in community health organizations and local schools, particularly Bristol Elementary School where he was a Guidance Counselor for thirty years. Jere loved the BES community.

Jere’s proudest accomplishment was raising his family in the home he built with his own hands. When he and Robin first visited the land in March 1980, they skied to the back meadow and saw a pair of bluebirds, which sealed the deal. After marrying, they cultivated kids and gardens with great care and attention. An indomitable team, they worked tirelessly on projects, knew each other’s strengths, and found ways to make the impossible happen. Jere’s determined and inventive spirit is everywhere on the property; from the stone walkway to the swingset he built for his grandchildren. Jere left the land more beautiful than he found it.

“Bear,” as Jere was known by his family, appreciated the small wonders of his home: fireflies in the field, a homemade meal from the garden, children digging for worms, one last sled run at sunset. He inspired his family to pursue lives of meaning and wonder, to seek out adventure and to foster relationships. Bear loved deeply and openly, would cry easily when moved or inspired, and expressed love through actions: homemade gifts, a sure hand on the tiller, small acts of kindness. During his passing we shared that it is now our turn to take the helm and to paddle him around the bend to his next journey.

Jere is survived by his wife, Robin Shalline; son Chris (Mara Mueller) and their children Aurelia and Juniper; daughter Anna (Asa Sourdiffe); and son Cam (Marta Solomianko); sister Alix Keast (Tom Banasiak) and niece Emma; sister Xenia Urban (David Ford) and nephew Alex (Allegra Shum); brother-in-law Paul Shalline (Susan) and nephew Jason; and cousin Peg O’Malley. He will be missed by many dear friends.

A celebration of Jere’s life will be held later this spring. If you’d like to make a donation in Jere’s memory, please consider contributing to the landscaping committee at the new Monkton community center. Jere devoted significant time to this project and imagined people gathering and enjoying the view of the surrounding pond and mountains. Checks can be written to: Town of Monkton. Mail to: Bill Joos, Treasurer, P.O. Box 12, Monkton VT, 05469. Subject line: Community Center Landscaping (in memory of Jere Urban).

Spring Term Report Card - 2021

To the Grand Class of 1969:

News of the Academy

In another Deerfield first, the 222nd Commencement took place under the cover of the Jay and Mimi Morsman Tennis Pavilion on a cold and rainy day.  Given the decision to hold a virtual reunion in June, few might have imagined that an in-person Commencement with no limitations on the number of guests would have been possible. The event was streamed live, and you can see it here. If you prefer to listen to highlights, you can fast forward to hear the head of the Board of Trustees (0:18:00), the Head of School (0:31:00), the student body president and the student council chair (0:57:35) and the keynote speaker (1:24:47).  Underclassmen left a day later, shaving off four days of academic instruction. The four days that were eliminated have been added to the Fall Term, and the academic year will begin before Labor Day for the first time ever to the disappointment of more than a few.

With the departure of the students, construction crews will be busy restoring buildings that had been retrofitted for the pandemic. Dewey (which we knew as the Heath Center and which served this past year as the primary quarantine facility) will be demolished as originally planned to make way for a new dormitory. 

Applications set a record, and enrollment for next year will be the highest ever even though only 12% were admitted. Students began getting vaccinated as they became eligible by age group during the Spring Term. Although more than 8,100 tests were administered during the Spring Term, only six students tested positive. Students will need to be vaccinated before returning to campus in the Fall, and remote learning will not be a choice. As it was, by the end of the Spring Term less than ten students were learning remotely.  

A truncated schedule of interscholastic athletics began in April, the highlight of which was Boys Varsity Lacrosse which finished 12-0 and earned the #1 national ranking.

News of the Class

An Italian at heart, AC Starkey put the top down and the pedal to the metal of his 2003 Maserati and set what may have been a land speed record from Vero to Palm Beach where he hosted me for an outdoor lunch at one of his favorite trattorias. This was undoubtedly a dry run for his upcoming trip to Sicily and the Amalfi Coast this summer where he plans a month-long stay, capped off with two nights in Paris on the return.

I received several photos in transit of the motley crew on the left who you may recognize from the 50th Reunion, if not from Pocumtuck. Together with their wives, this group shipped off earlier this month aboard the riverboat American Jazz for an eight-day cruise up the Mississippi from New Orleans to Memphis.

In other news John Mills was the principal author of a brief submitted by the New York City Bar Association in connection with a case to be heard later this year before the Supreme Court on the "doctrine of assignor estoppel" which prevents sellers of patents from later challenging their own patents.

Best wishes to all for the summer.

DWS

Winter Term Report Card - 2021

To the Grand Class of 1969:

News of the Academy

In a year full of changes, one thing that has remained constant in the academic calendar is the traditional two week Spring Break which began when classes let out earlier today.

The start of the Winter Term was delayed until January this year for the first time. Instead, two weeks in December were filled with "D-Term", a virtual learning experience focused on "community building" and "engaged citizenship". In another change to the calendar bound to disappoint some, the upcoming academic year will begin before Labor Day for the first time.

The school retrofitted various buildings (including Hitchcock which had functioned as the bookstore since 2001 and Ephraim Williams which had housed the Office of Advancement since 1999) in order to accommodate the day students for the Winter Term and has made the decision to extend the boarding requirement for the Spring Term. About 12% of the student body chose remote learning over spending the winter in Deerfield, up from 5% during the Fall Term. The school administered 14,769 COVID tests, with only 29 individuals testing positive.  In a sign of progress, all K-12 employees of public and private schools in Massachusetts became eligible for vaccinations today although it remains unclear just how much this will affect the the way the school operates from day to day during the Spring Term.

Another change this year has been the admissions process which has been predicated forever on a belief in the importance of in-person interviews. Years ago I was told that the school dispensed with the interview requirement one year and, in retrospect, regretted the decision. Like so many things in the past year, it's hard to know how many of the pandemic induced changes are transitory and how many are permanent. Presumably in-person interviews, standardized tests and revisit days will be reinstituted as soon as it is safe again. For those who pinned their hopes on attending Deerfield, demand for the limited number of spaces was up this year as expected. Decisions were communicated on March 10th.

Given the long lead time it takes to plan a reunion and the uncertain course of the virus, the school chose to replace in-person reunions with a series of virtual meetings this June for the classes whose reunions were scheduled for June 2020 and 2021. Those classes will be invited to campus in June 2022 for a "cluster reunion" with adjacent classes. In another first, the 50th Reunion for the classes of 1970 and 1971 is going to take place this Fall. Those alumni who had been hoping to relive dormitory life in June will need to find other housing options during the peak foliage season in New England. 

News of the Class

I've mentioned Neil Jacobs' after-school program in the Boston area several times since learning about 3Point Foundation at our Reunion. You will be interested to read an interview Neil gave last Fall to Boston Speaks Up which includes information on his foundation as well as the backstory on how he wound up at Deerfield.

You may recall that Camp Timanous (which was owned by the Suitor family for more than 80 years) made the painful decision last year that it couldn't re-open safely. David Suitor confirmed recently that the camp has adapted to all contingencies and will be open again this summer with a full complement of campers. Another business hard hit by the pandemic has been live concerts. After having had to abbreviate the calendar 2021 concert schedule, Rusty Young has been busy rescheduling performers (one of whom is Chubby Checker whose 50th anniversary of "The Twist" is this year) as well as venues and has 70 shows lined up for the 2022 season.

In more dated news, Margarita Curtis H '57 '69 was appointed Interim President of Ursuline Academy in New Orleans for the 2020-2021 academic year. Margarita was a four year student at Ursuline, the first all-girls' Catholic school in the country, and graduated in 1969. Since her retirement from Deerfield, she and her husband have been living in New Orleans.

Best wishes to all.

DWS