Westminster School Bulletin Spring 2013

For Alumni, Parents & Friends ofWestminster School

Leading with Grit & Grace Since 1888

THE BULLETINSPRING 2013

WESTMINSTERWESTMINSTER

b

John S. Armour ’76EmeritusPalos Verdes Estates, Calif.

Elisabeth M. Armstrong P’04, ’06, ’07Cherry Hills Village, Colo.

Beth Cuda Baker P’09, ’12, ’15New Canaan, Conn.

Susan Werner Berenson ’82Bethesda, Md.

C. Andrew Brickman ’82Hinsdale, Ill.

Susanna S. Brown P’15Batesville, Va.

Trinette T. Cheng P’08, ’11, ’13Kowloon, Hong Kong

Abram Claude Jr. ’46 P’71, ’80, ’84, GP’02EmeritusNorth Salem, N.Y.

John A. Cosentino Jr. P’00 Simsbury, Conn.

John H. Davis P’05EmeritusLongmeadow, Mass.

Lori P. Durham P’13, ’15Denver, Colo.

William C. Egan III ’64, P’92, ’95, ’00, ’02 EmeritusSkillman, N.J.

Colin S. Flinn ’82Sanibel, Fla.

Heather Frahm ’86Weston, Mass.

Joseph L. Gitterman III ’55,P’86, ’90EmeritusWashington Depot, Conn.

Robert T. Horsford ’89New York, N.Y.

David H. Hovey Jr. ’78, P’09, ’11, ’14Ex officioSimsbury, Conn.

Leigh A. Hovey P’09, ’11, ’14Ex officioSimsbury, Conn.

Moyahoena Ogilvie Johnson ’86Bloomfield, Conn.

Jeffrey E. Kelter P’12, ’14Locust Valley, N.Y.

George C. Kokulis P’07, ’12 Simsbury, Conn.

Seonyong Lee P’08, ’09, ’13Seoul, Korea

Andrew D. McCullough Jr. ’87Houston, Texas

S. Bradley Mell P’14Far Hills, N.J.

Charles B. Milliken P’77 EmeritusBloomfield, Conn.

T. Treadway Mink Jr. ’77, P’11Chairman of the BoardNew Canaan, Conn.

Anne K. Moran P’06, ’09, ’12Unionville, Pa.

John C. Niles ’81, P’14Marblehead, Mass.

J. Pierce O’Neil ’76, P’10, ’12 Rowayton, Conn.

William V.N. Philip P’06, ’09HeadmasterEx officio Simsbury, Conn.

C. Bradford Raymond ’85New York, N.Y.

Allan A. Ryan IV ’78, P’06, ’07, ’12Palm Beach, Fla.

John B. Ryan ’93Ex officioRye, N.Y.

John Sherwin Jr. ’57, P’83, ’89EmeritusWaite Hill, Ohio

Samuel Thorne ’46, P’74, ’76EmeritusBedford, Mass.

Gregory F. Ugalde P’05, ’07,’10, ’12 Burlington, Conn.

Armistead C.G. Webster Ph.D.Hartford, Conn.

Sara L. Whiteley ’91West Chatham, Mass.

Hilary Neumann Zeller ’88Weston, Mass.

Published by:Westminster School 995 Hopmeadow St. Simsbury, CT 06070(860) 408-3000

This magazine is produced twice a year bythe Marketing & Communications Office.

Address Class Notes to:Beth SoycherWestminster SchoolP.O. Box 337Simsbury, CT 06070-0377

Or submit via e-mail:[email protected]

To update contact information ONLY:[email protected]

Westminster School does not discriminateon the basis of race, color, creed, sex,national origin or sexual orientation inadministration of its education policies,admissions policies, scholarship and loanprograms, and athletic and other school-administered programs.

EDITORDarlene Skeels, Director of Publicationsand Communications [email protected]

DIRECTOR OF MARKETINGKen Mason

PHOTOGRAPHYRichard Bergen, Newell Grant ’99, Ken Mason, Darlene Skeels and David Werner ’80

CLASS NOTES COORDINATORBeth Soycher

DESIGNJohn Johnson Art Direction & DesignCollinsville, Conn.

Above, Westminster’s Main Building in Simsbury was constructed in 1900. It was later renamed Cushing Hall.

On the cover, an all-school photo of students, faculty and staff taken in fall 2012 in honor of the school’s 125th anniversaryis shown with photos of school life over the decades.

WESTMINSTER BULLETINSPRING 2013

TRUSTEES 2012-2013

WESTMINSTER | WINTER 2011 | BULLETINWESTMINSTER | SPRING 2013 | BULLETIN

insideHeadmaster’s Message . . . . . . . 2

Hill Headlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Athletics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Anniversary Celebration Continues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Looking Back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Reflections Across the Decades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Sharing History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Inspired by Dedication . . . . . . . . 40

Supporting Westminster . . . . . . 46

Class Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Closing Thoughts . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

THE BULLETINSPRING 2013

CelebrationContinuesPage . . . . . . . . . 10

Class NotesPage . . . . . . . . . . 56

SharingHistoryPage . . . . . . . . . 36

AthleticsPage . . . . . . . . . . 8

SupportingWestminsterPage . . . . . . . . . 46

Inspired by DedicationPage. . . . . . . . . . . . 40

ReflectionsPage . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Hill HeadlinesPage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

WESTMINSTER | SPRING 2013 | BULLETIN

2

Dear Members of the Westminster Community,

Martlets Fly Together

This edition of the Bulletin celebrates our 125th anniversaryand features many personal stories related to WestminsterSchool’s history. As I have commented on many occasions, itis the people who define this special school, and these storiesoffer revealing insights on that perspective. In fact,community has always been at the core of Westminster’smission. Historically, community has meant the students andfaculty on Williams Hill, but more recently, what we meanby community has expanded in some exciting ways.

Our community on Williams Hill still animates our purposeas a school. Through family-style dinners, chapels andassemblies, our community of students and faculty continuesto gather almost on a daily basis. Intentionally, we are asmall school, one where students and faculty know eachother, are comfortable with each other and support eachother on an ongoing basis. In this context, our regularcommunity gatherings remain an essential component of ourschool’s program. Perhaps most telling with respect to theenduring power of this community ethos, students andfaculty also gather informally on a regular basis at studentcoffee houses to support those who are performing, at gamesto cheer on our teams and for Friday evening readingsfeaturing student authors.

In various intentional ways, we also have extended thiscommunity ethos by reaching into Hartford County. Ofcourse, Todd Eckerson’s initiative — Westminster CrossroadsLearning Program, whereby faculty and students provideacademic enrichment to students at Hartford Public HighSchool, while learning invaluable life lessons themselves —offers a leading example of this commitment. Otherexamples abound, such as our annual community serviceday, when students and faculty spend a day volunteering forvarious organizations in the surrounding area, or the weeklyvolunteer efforts of our students and faculty at a Hartfordcharter school called Jumoke Academy, or our recent hostingof students from The Discovery Center for classes in ArmourAcademic Center, or even our service as a host site for theannual Walk for Multiple Sclerosis. Simply put, forWestminster School, community reaches beyond the peopleon Williams Hill.

This shared passion forthe power of ourcommunity ethos

continues to inspire as itemanates from Williams

Hill across HartfordCounty, across the United

States and around the globe.


3

Of course, this shared passion for Westminster extends toalumni and parents scattered around the nation and theworld. At away games, it is not unusual for Westminster fansto outnumber the fans from the host school. Even further,many alumni follow the exploits of our hockey and lacrosseteams through game-summary e-mails sent to huge mailinglists of alumni and parent fans by Tim Joncas ’00 and PeterNewman ’80, boys’ ice hockey and lacrosse coaches,respectively. Similarly, Westminster events are always wellattended, whether this past December’s celebratory occasionat the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, which drewabout 300 alumni and parents, or a reception this winter inLos Angeles, or a dinner for alumni and parents Jenny and Iattended in Seoul, Korea. The passion for Westminsterliterally spans the globe, and personally, opportunities tocatch up with alumni whom I taught, coached and advisedduring my 30 years on the faculty are truly among my mostcherished moments as headmaster.

Anecdotes underscoring this passion are countless. The DavisScholars Program continues to enrich our school communityby making it possible for students from countries around theglobe such as Afghanistan, Ghana, the Czech Republic,Vietnam and Egypt to join our school community. AhmedAbdel Khalek ’12 and Laila Samy ’14, Davis Scholars whoenrolled from Egypt, are very talented squash players andboth went on to win their age group’s United States OpenSquash tournament, all the while playing proudly in theirblack and gold Westminster uniforms. As they explained,they did not view their victories as personalaccomplishments; rather, in the midst of this world-classcompetition, they always thought of themselves as playingfor Westminster School.

The most prestigious professional organization for heads ofschools is called the Headmasters Association, and it includesin its active membership 100 independent and public schoolleaders from our country’s best secondary schools. For thelast two decades, Don Werner, who you will recall served asheadmaster before Graham Cole, has led this organization,and at its annual meeting earlier this year was feted on theoccasion of his retirement from that leadership role. Thecelebration included laudatory remarks by Bill Polk, former

headmaster at Groton, and Lance Odden, former headmasterat Taft. I share this moment, because it offers a poignantinsight regarding Westminster School’s standing in thesecondary school world as well as another example of thepower of one person’s enduring passion for all thingsWestminster.

While the spotlight at the Headmasters Association was onDon, the glow from that spotlight offered a meaningfulreputational enhancement to our school. Don arranged forthe table where he and Mimi sat to include me along withBen Williams ’81, headmaster at Cate School, and TomSturtevant ’80, past headmaster at Northfield MountHermon School. Of course, I am sure it was entirelycoincidental that the colors for the logo for the HeadmastersAssociation, which Don designed, were black and gold andthe insignia which is an interlocked “H” and “A” actuallylooks like a big “W.” I am just as certain that it is acoincidence that the book that Don wrote on the history ofthis organization features prominently on the front coverWilliam Lee Cushing and on the back cover Westminster’sshield. Simply put, long after his tenure as headmasterconcluded, Don continues to seek opportunities to advanceour school.

Martlets fly together, they always have flown together duringour 125-year history and they always will. This sharedpassion for the power of our community ethos continues toinspire as it emanates from Williams Hill across HartfordCounty, across the United States and around the globe. Ihope you enjoy the stories in this edition of our Bulletin, andI hope that each of you will find an opportunity to visitWilliams Hill in the not too distant future. Jenny joins me inextending our very best wishes to all the Martlets flyingtogether far and wide!

With Grit & Grace,

William V.N. Philip P’06, ’09Headmaster


4

Hill HeadlinesHill Headlines

Students and Faculty Attend StudentDiversity Leadership Conference

Four students and four faculty members from Westminsterattended the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) titled“Energizing Our Future” in Houston, Texas, Dec. 6-8 hosted by theNational Association of Independent Schools.

SDLC is a multiracial, multicultural gathering of student leadersin grades nine through 12 from across the U.S. that focuses on self-reflection, forming allies and building community.

Some of the goals of the conference were for participants todevelop effective cross-cultural communication skills, betterunderstand the nature and development of effective strategies forsocial justice, practice expression through the arts, and learnnetworking principles and strategies.

The students were immersed in an intense, yet engaging,schedule that ran most days from 8 a.m. until at least 10 p.m. “Onething that came up over and over was that they were all taken by howopen people were with one another and how safe and easy it was toconnect with people they’d just met,” said Westminster’s Director ofMulticultural Affairs Michele Hatchette ’05. “It was both refreshing and inspiring for them.”

Highlights for the students included a “silent movement” exercise, the opportunity to be open andhonest with strangers, affinity group work related to recognizing their legacies and open mic sharing time.

The students who attended the conference included Charlotte DeLana ’14, Chanice Gooden ’14, DavidCarter ’15 and Hieu Do ’15. The faculty participants were Director of College Counseling Greg Williams,Associate Director of Admissions David Pringle ’05, Director of Theater A-men Rasheed and MicheleHatchette, who also serves as associate director of admissions.

Hieu Do ’15, Chanice Gooden ’14, David Carter ’15 andCharlotte DeLana ’14

Travis Roy, who had a passion to play Division I hockey, finallyrealized his dream in October 1995 by playing for Boston University as afreshman. Eleven seconds into his first collegiate game, however, a freakaccident drove him into the boards, and a cracked fourth vertebra left himparalyzed from the neck down.

Following this tragic accident at age 20, Travis went on to completea degree in communications at BU, write the book “Eleven Seconds,”found the Travis Roy Foundation and become a popular motivationalspeaker. He visited Westminster Jan. 8 to talk with the school communityabout his accident and the lessons he learned from it.

“That is the challenge that chose me,” he explained. “Sometimeswe choose our challenges and other times they choose us. … If you don’tthink you can make a difference, let my life be a lesson to you.”

He spoke about how for 20 years he chose his challenges andplaying hockey at the Division I level and beyond were his primary goals.In his view, the primary motivating factors for success are wanting to seehow good you can get at whatever you choose and having pride inknowing you tried your best. “I hope that during your time here atWestminster, you will find something that excites you,” he told thestudents. “You have to have that belief in yourself to achieve your goals.”

He described theevents of the fatefulnight of his accident,including the tap on theshoulder from his coachwhen he was sent intohis first BU game. Hesaid he knew he wasseriously injured at thetime of the accidentand recalled telling hisfather, “But dad, I made it,” referring to the accomplishment of his dream.

During Travis’ lengthy hospitalization and follow-up treatment, hedecided to take control over his life and to put it back together. “One thingI learned is that a positive attitude can take you further in life thananything else. The values that made me successful before my accidentwould make me successful afterward.” He described those values asshowing respect for everyone you meet, listening to that internal voicethat tells you to make good decisions rather than responding to peerpressure, and expressing love and caring to family and friends daily.

Travis Roy Gives Inspirational Talk

Amy Stevens P’07, ’09, ’12, Travis Royand Tim Joncas ’00


5


Kendall Hoyt ’89, who serves as an assistant professor atDartmouth Medical School where she studies U.S. biodefense policy,research and development strategy, and translational medicine, visitedWestminster Jan. 11 to speak with the school community about herwork in bioterrorism. She also teaches a course on technology andbiosecurity at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College.

Last year, she published a book titled “Long Shot: Vaccines forNational Defense” (Harvard University Press). She has also publishedarticles in International Security, the Journal of Public Health Policy andThe New York Times. She serves on a National Research CouncilCommittee on the Department of Defense’s Programs to CounterBiological Threats.

Kendall received her Ph.D. in the history and social study of science and technology at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology in 2002 and was a Fellow in the International SecurityProgram at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School ofGovernment from 2002-2004. Prior to obtaining her degree, she worked in the International Securityand International Affairs division of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, theWashington, D.C., office of McKinsey and Company, and the Center for the Management ofInnovation and Technology at the National University of Singapore.

In her Westminster presentation, Kendall explained how she became interested in bioterrorismwhile riding in the back of a bus and thinking about the Sarin attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995and how such attacks would become a larger problem over time. “You cannot count them likeconventional weapons because they evade detection,” she explained. “It is hard to control thethreat.” She said the major question is, “Can we get the medicine we need when we need it?”

She emphasized that prediction is hard and that a new strategy is needed for vaccinedevelopment. She described the innovation in vaccine development that took place during WorldWar II and how that innovation has since declined due to factors related to intellectual property,stricter regulations, requirements for clinical trials, market forces and a shift in the institutionalenvironment. “We need to change how we do research and what we do research on,” she said.“We need to re-engineer the process by which we develop vaccines. … Accelerated developmenttimes will improve national security and improve productivity. We have seen transformativeinnovation in the cell phone, Internet and semiconductor industries. The common element is to focuson integrated research productivity. This is what I have been working on.”

Following her presentation, she responded to numerous questions from the audience regardingthe background she needed to get into her field, what a day in her life is like and about her time atWestminster as a student. “In Mrs. Urner-Berry’s labs, the Bunsen burner and the Periodic Tablecaptivated my imagination,” she replied. “The interest started here for sure.”

Leader in Biodefense DiscussesVaccine Development Issues

Finalist inNational Merit ScholarshipProgram

Sixth Former Molly Mullen, a daystudent from East Granby, has been nameda Finalist in the 2013 National MeritScholarship Program competition and isbeing considered for a National MeritScholarship and the Merit Scholar title.

She is among approximately 15,000Finalists competing for some 8,300National Merit Scholarship awards thatwill be announced beginning in April andconcluding in July.

Molly’s coursework at Westminsterhas been rigorous and has includednumerous honors and AP courses. Shehas been recognized as an AP Scholarwith Distinction and achieved summacum laude on the National Latin Exam.Last May, she was named the winner ofWestminster’s Brian Ford Writing Prize.She serves as co-editor in chief of TheWestminster News and as co-editor ofThe Martlet. She also serves as a captainof First Girls’ Cross Country andparticipates in track. She has twice earnedschool awards for her sportsmanship.Molly sings with Westminster’s Choraleand Chamber Choir.

Following herpresentation in theWerner CentennialCenter, Kendall Hoyt’89 meets withSydney Daniels ’13,Eleni Tebano ’13 andEllie Deveaux ’14.


6


New ScienceCollaborative

Westminster collaborated with TheDiscovery Center, located in Farmington, Conn.,this past winter to bring 94 seventh gradestudents from two Hartford-area schools toWestminster to participate in diversity andteam-building activities, eat lunch and attendscience workshops.

Students from the EnvironmentalSciences Magnet School at Mary Hookervisited Jan. 23 and students from NoahWebster MicroSociety Magnet School visitedJan. 30.

The mission of The Discovery Center is to shape positive attitudes about race anddifferences, reduce isolationism between urbanand suburban/rural schools, and improve math,science and language arts skills. Its executivedirector is Allan Wilson, husband of Westminsterfaculty member Joyce Wilson. Founded by the latePaul Newman and Joanne Woodward as a pilot program of The Hole inthe Wall Gang Camp in 1992, The Discovery Center was incorporated in2002 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The Diversity Academyprogram, which brought students to Westminster, is an exciting additionto the organization, which also offers a residential program andleadership workshops.

During their time at Westminster, the visiting students and theirDiscovery Center leaders participated in science workshops in the sciencelaboratories in the Armour Academic Center with Westminster scienceteachers Mark de Kanter ’91, Greg Marco P’08, ’11 and Lee ZalingerP’05, ’07, ’09 and 12 Westminster student volunteers. “Let’s all beexplorers and ask a lot of great questions,” Westminster ScienceDepartment Head Lee Zalinger told the seventh graders in his workshopabout inertia.

“As a community, Westminster feels lucky to have been part of sucha special opportunity and looks forward to hosting The Discovery Centeragain next year,” said Westminster Assistant Headmaster KathleenDevaney. “Our participating teachers and students fully appreciated theircontact with the program.”

“This is an exciting partnership,” added The Discovery Center’sCoordinator of Leadership Workshops, Jason Fredlund. “Our visits toWestminster, which were the first learning excursions for this newprogram, provided access to incredible facilities, technology andeducation for our students.”

Students visiting Westminster from the Environmental Sciences Magnet School atMary Hooker participate in science workshops with Westminster science teachersLee Zalinger, above; Mark de Kanter ’91, below left; and Greg Marco, below right.


7


On the StageThose attending Westminster Dramat’s performances of Molière’s

farce “The Imaginary Cuckold or Sganarelle” Nov. 8-10 were treated toan evening of laughter during the commedia dell’arte style play.

Similarly, Dramat’s production of “Once Upon a Mattress”played to enthusiastic audiences during its successful Feb. 15-17 run.


8

Season OverviewsSports Information Director Betsy Heckman takes a look

back at some of the highlights of the fall and winter athleticseasons.

FALL SEASON It was another successful season for Westminster’s fall 2012athletic programs with outstanding achievements both for teamsand individuals.

First Girls’ Soccer advanced to the Class A New EnglandTournament once again after compiling a 10-3-2 record. In thequarterfinals, it lost a heartbreaking game to Hotchkiss inovertime, 1-0.

Both of the Cross Country teams also had outstandingseasons. The girls had the first undefeated season in more thana decade and finished fifth overall in the Division II NewEngland meet. The boys suffered only one loss and finishedsixth in New Englands.

A number of individual performances highlighted the fall season.In First Football, Yianni Gavalas ’13 earned first team All-Colonial League and Class B All-New England honors. BothMark Ellis ’13 and Jamie Moross ’14 were named to the firstteam All-Colonial League. For First Girls’ Soccer, Iris Dayton’13 and Laura Moore ’14 were awarded All-WNEPSSA and All-State recognition. Christian Barral-Arteta ’13 earned bothAll-WNEPSSA and All-State honors for First Boys’ Soccer.First Field Hockey had two standouts of their own as AlliDevins ’13 and Eleni Tebano ’13 were chosen as WNEPSFHAAll-Stars. In Cross Country, Aaron Rubin ’15 finished eighth atFounders and sixth at Division II New Englands. Paige Capistran’16 came in 10th at Founders and 11th at Division II NewEnglands, while Sydney Rivers ’13 finished 18th at Division IINew Englands. The three runners earned All-New England honors.

WINTER SEASONWestminster sports teams found a great deal of success duringthe 2012-2013 winter season. Athletes performed at the highestlevels and proved that despite the school’s small size,Westminster can compete, and win, against much bigger rivals.

For the first time under the new postseason format, First Boys’Hockey earned a trip to the “Elite Eight” New Englandtournament. An undefeated February pushed the team into thetop eight teams in New England and earned them the No. 7seed. They faced No. 2 Belmont Hill in the quarterfinals andcame away with a thrilling overtime victory. The Martletstraveled to Salem, N.H., for the semifinals against Salisbury andonce again found themselves in a very tight game that againneeded an extra frame for a decision. Unfortunately, this time,the Black and Gold were not able to pull off the win. CaptainDavid Hallisey ’13 was one of six players named to the All-NewEngland Team.


9

Visit www.westminster-school.org/scoresfor the latest game results and team schedulesor scan this QR code with your smartphone

Student Wins Squash Championship For the second year in a row, Westminster can boast about having a national champion

among its ranks. Laila Samy ’14 won the U.S. Junior Open Squash Championships U17 divisionheld in Boston Dec. 15-18. After being pushed to four games in the semifinals, Laila wasdominant during the final round, winning the match in three games (2, 5, 6). Players from 20countries participated in the tournament, which is the largest junior tournament in the world.

Laila is in her first year at Westminster. She follows in the footsteps of fellow countrymanand Martlet Ahmed Abdel Khalek ’12 who was both a U.S. Junior Champion and undefeatedduring his career at Westminster. Both Laila and Ahmed hail from Egypt, and as Ahmed tookWestminster squash to a new level, Laila seems destined to do the same.

First Girls’ Hockey also qualified for the Division I New Englandtournament. With only three losses in the regular season and a FoundersLeague championship, Westminster earned the No. 3 seed and a homegame in the quarterfinals against Cushing Academy. Neither team wasable to score in regulation or in the first overtime period. Ultimately,Cushing scored in the fifth period on a power play, in a heart-breaking lossfor Westminster. Captain Eleni Tebano ’13 was named to the All-NewEngland First Team and Tori DeAngelis ’14 earned Second Team honors.

First Girls’ Squash celebrated a very successful season as well. Inaddition to its 11-4 regular season record, the team can boast one of thebest players in New England and the country. In the Class A New Englandtournament No. 1 draw, Fifth Former Laila Samy came in second. Duringthe season, Laila also won the U.S. Junior Open Squash Championship.Laila lost only one match this winter and helped lead her team to theirmost successful season in many years.

First Boys’ Squash was again composed of a talented and hard-workinggroup. The team’s 12-4 record was good enough to earn it honors asFounders League co-champions along with Taft and Hotchkiss. Moreimpressively, after the Class A New England tournament, the Martletswere given the NEISA Sportsmanship Award for the team’s comportmentfor the season. All teams vote on which team should receive this award,and, in many ways, this is the greatest honor a squad could receive.

Swimming and Diving has a couple of champions on its squad too.Divers Jimmy Giuliano ’13 and Kayla Foley ’13 won the New EnglandDivision II diving championships. Third Former Jack Norman placedsecond. Jimmy’s performance was good enough to set a new meet record.

In addition, both Jimmy and Kaylaplaced second in the FoundersLeague diving championships. Boys’Swimming and Diving performedimpressively in the final weeks ofthe season and placed third at theDivision II meet. Top finishes byHerbert Cheng ’13, second in the200 IM, and Toby Casper ’14,second in the 100 Breaststroke,helped the team’s efforts.

Both First Basketball teams hadtheir best seasons in many winters.The boys earned 10 wins and had anumber of close, exciting victories.They were led by Kris Hargraves’13, who was a force bothoffensively and defensively. Krisearned All-New Englandrecognition. The girls’ team doubledits wins from last year and wascompetitive in every game it played. Meg Richard ’15 and Rachel Monroe’14 were named NEPSGBCA Class A All-Stars.

10

Westminster’s125th AnniversaryCelebration ContinuesWestminster’s 125th anniversary celebrationcontinued throughout the late fall and winterwith a variety of activities both on and offthe Hill. Numerous speakers visited campus,author and musical events were held in theGund Reading Room, and performing artspresentations took place in the WernerCentennial Center. Community outreach wasanother focus and included donations ofcanned food, turkeys, gift cards and books.Please see related stories that follow.

Major anniversary events in the monthsahead will include an Alumni Art Exhibit May3-25 in the Armour Academic Center and anAlumni Athletic Forum in the WernerCentennial Center on the evening of May 7.

Alumni who will be showcasing their worksat the art exhibit will include George Elliott’47, Joe Gitterman ’55, David Maclay ’64,Rett Sturman ’65, Jeffrey Bishop ’67, DavidCowing ’73, Kurt Godiksen ’73, the late AnneCulver ’76, Will Sillin ’73, Larry Wasiele ’75,Emily Laird ’79, Bryan Nash Gill ’80, AlexBoyden Donaghy ’82, Alec Richardson ’85,Anee Ward ’85 and Lee Anderson ’04.

Alumni who will be speaking about theirprofessional athletic careers at the athleticforum will include Kara Brown ’96, DougKnight ’93, Jeff Natale ’01, Rebecca Brooks’96, Ben Smith ’06 and Brian Sanford ’06.Rebecca Lobo, a television analyst andformer professional basketball player, willserve as the moderator.

Plans are also underway for the anniversary’sclosing celebration on Sept. 28 that willfeature the dedication of new student andfaculty residences, a keynote address byNew York Times columnist and best-sellingauthor David Brooks, a reception and dinner.

For all of the latest news on anniversary activities, please visitwww.westminster-school.org/125

11


12

Portraits of two of Westminster’s former headmasters, William Lee Cushing and Lemuel Gardner Pettee, are looking betterthan ever thanks to recent cleaning and repair work that took place as a part of the school’s 125th anniversary celebration.The portraits hang in the school’s dining hall, along with the portraits of all of Westminster’s seven previous headmasters.

The 55-inch by 45-inch oil on canvas of Westminster School founder William Cushing had never been lined or cleanedbefore and was in need of repair due to some surface damage. Preservation work by an art conservation company in NewYork City included repairing damaged areas,retouching the surface, varnishing it and lining it.

The 50-inch by 40-inch portrait ofWestminster’s second headmaster, LemuelPettee, was similarly damaged and needed tobe relined with an acrylic canvas and have oldsurface coatings removed, new inpaintingperformed and a coating of protective varnishapplied. A Connecticut conservationlaboratory performed the restoration work.

“These two great icons were sorely in needof major refurbishment,” said Alan Brooks’55, director of the 125th anniversary. “Thepaintings are much brighter now, and theportraits seem to pop out at you. They shouldhold up very nicely for many generations.”

Restoration of Two Headmaster Portraits

Rob King, senior vice presidentand editor in chief of ESPN digital andprint media, visited Westminster Oct.26 to talk with students and facultyabout his work at ESPN and a careerthat has included positions as acartoonist and a journalist.

“The reason I came here is to talkabout you,” he told the students in theaudience. “I want to tell you that I amjealous of everyone in the room.” Hethen cited some reasons for his envy.The first was that they have moreaccess to information than he hadgrowing up. He told them how helearned to be a cartoonist fromstudying information in the WorldBook Encyclopedia and comic books,the only resources available to him atthe time.

He also talked about how theyhave the ability to communicate with

anybody they want at any time andencouraged the students to enjoy thepresent. “You are at an amazing place.You are the most precious element inthis conversation. You are on a journeythat can take you to lots of differentplaces.”

After talking about his earlycareer, he added, “Between the ages of14 and 30, you will be 15 people. Giveyourself permission to be the age youare. … Along the way, you will learn,try, fail, succeed and start over.”

In discussing his work at ESPN, heemphasized, “The world we live in ismoving so fast. We are constantlytrying to meet your expectations. …We have to think about all of yourpoints of view and needs, and deliverin real time.” In closing he said, “Youare on your way, and I am proud tohave spent some time with you.”

Senior ESPN Executive Encourages Students to Enjoy Life’s Journey

William Lee Cushing Lemuel Gardner Pettee

Rob King, senior vice president andeditor in chief of ESPN digital andprint media, gives a presentation tostudents and faculty about his careerand work at ESPN.


13

Martlet Retrospective to be Published

Each spring, an issue of The Martlet ispublished, showcasing student and faculty verse,prose, artwork and photography. Students serveas editors and work with faculty advisors toprepare it for publication. Head of the EnglishDepartment Michael Cervas P’96, ’01, ’10, theholder of the Donald H. Werner Chair in English,serves as the literary advisor, and photography teacher JaneToner P’02 serves as the art advisor.

As a part of Westminster’s 125th anniversary celebration,a retrospective issue of The Martlet will be published inMay, showcasing selected works from prior issues extendingback to 1965. Molly Mullen ’13 is editor of the retrospectiveand has been working on the project for nearly two years.

Molly began reviewing the past four decades of issues of

The Martlet during the summer before her FifthForm year in order to select stories for the newanthology. She continued her work last summer and

chose three or four stories from each decade.Most of the literary work is in the form ofshort stories, with some recent poems.

“There is a lot of variety to it,” said Molly. “In the 1960s, there were more nonfiction

and opinion pieces, while more recently, theworks are fiction and poetry.” Covers of pastissues will serve as artwork.

“I knew I could trust Molly to be a thoughtfuleditor for the retrospective, but I was amazed to

discover that so many of her choices would have beenexactly the ones I would have made if I were putting thebooklet together,” said Michael. “This Martlet retrospectivewill be truly representative of the variety and quality ofliterature and art produced by Westminster students andteachers over the past 50 years.”

“The yearly edition of The Martlet has been awonderful place to showcase the work of Westminsterstudent and faculty artists and photographers,” added Jane.“It has been especially exciting working with Molly on thisretrospective issue as she thoughtfully selected a fine crosssection of art and photography representative of fivedecades.”

A previous retrospective issue was published in 1965and covered selections from 1891 to 1965 from thepredecessor to The Martlet, the Westminster Review, andThe Martlet. It was completed as a part of the school’s 75thanniversary celebration.

According to the book “By Grit and Grace,” the firstMartlet appeared during Headmaster Arthur “Prof”Milliken’s tenure: “Prof and faculty member Ashley Olmstedthought of it as a medium for putting in print the best of theschool’s creative writing.”

Molly Mullen ’13, right, works with Alexa Armour ’14 onselection of artwork for the retrospective issue of The Martlet.

Angel Tree Project Helps Others

Members of the Westminster communitycollected 125 gift cards that were given to theSimsbury Department of Social Services as partof the school’s annual holiday Angel TreeProject. Westminster faculty and their families,students, staff, advisee groups, entire classes andteams donated the cards from a variety ofretailers and restaurants. The Dec. 12Candlelight Service offering also went towardthe purchase of additional gift cards.


14

Chamber Members Visit HillWestminster hosted local business and communityleaders at a Simsbury Chamber of Commerce “AfterHours” reception on Oct. 22 in the Armstrong Atriumof the Armour Academic Center. While enjoying greatfood and company, Chamber members learned aboutWestminster’s 125th anniversary celebration and itslongtime involvement in the local community.

Anniversary Gift to Simsbury PublicLibrary Helps Teens

As a part of the community outreach efforts ofWestminster’s 125th anniversary celebration, the schooldonated funds to the Simsbury Public Library to purchase125 books for its teen collection.

Books added to the collection include fiction, nonfiction,graphic novels, classics, and audio and e-books. A list of thetitles appears on the Simsbury Public Library’s Web site. Thebooks are being displayed together in the library for one yearand thereafter will be interfiled with the library’s YoungAdult collection. A bookplate in each book designates it as agift to the community on the occasion of Westminster’s125th anniversary. Reviews of the individual books are alsorunning in the library’s electronic newsletter.

The Westminster gift was recognized by the Town ofSimsbury at its Board of Selectmen meeting Jan. 14, at whichtime members of the library’s board of trustees presentedHeadmaster Bill Philip with a plaque of appreciation.Library Director Sue Bullock also thanked Westminster forits generosity and described how the gift “has made a hugedifference in reading materials for the kids.”

“Community is one of our school’s core values andproviding the opportunity for the Simsbury Public Library toexpand its teen reading program is a perfect way for us toexpress our support for young adult education and to giveback to the Simsbury community, which has been an integralpart of our school’s long history,” said Headmaster Philip inaccepting the plaque at the meeting.

Food Drive Helps Neighbors in NeedIn organizing the annual student Halloween dance Oct.

27, the student organization Serving Our Neighbors (SON)challenged students to bring at least 10 nonperishable fooditems to the dance. Students from the fall Community ServiceProgram blitzed the school with mini-posters remindingclassmates to meet the challenge. SON oversaw thecollection of more than 125 pounds of food, and students inthe fall Community Service Program delivered the food tothe Simsbury Food Closet.


15

Hartford Mayor Visits WestminsterCity of Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra visited

Westminster Feb. 7 to talk about his life and Hartford.Segarra was elected Hartford City Council president inJanuary of 2010 and became the city’s66th mayor in June of the same year,following the resignation of formermayor Eddie Perez. In November 2011,Mayor Segarra then won a sweepingvictory with 81 percent of the vote.

Segarra was born in Puerto Ricoand moved to the Bronx when he was inelementary school. At age 15, he packedup his belongings and took a bus toHartford to start a new life. “From thefirst day, I fell in love with the city,” heexplained.

Although he had not finished high school, he attended HartfordCommunity College, now known asCapital Community College. Following his graduation, hereceived a full scholarship to the University of Hartfordwhere he earned a B.A. in political science. He then earneddegrees from the University of Connecticut schools of socialwork and law. A practicing attorney for 27 years, he was theyoungest person to serve as corporation counsel for the Cityof Hartford when he was appointed in 1991.

“Hartford is an incredible city and is so undervalued,”said the mayor. He cited many Hartford firsts, adding thatthe Smithsonian is working on an exhibition showcasing

Hartford as one of the most innovative cities in the nation.He said the city was “stuck for many years in poverty andwas very segregated” and “the best way to fix this is througheducation. There are a lot of new reforms in place to givechildren more opportunities.”

In response to questions from theaudience, he highlighted the addition ofaffordable housing units in Hartford andnew transportation initiatives. “I amhoping to see the skyline of the citychange,” he said. Although there aremany demands associated with hiswork, he declared, “I love my job beingmayor.”

Segarra encouraged students in theaudience to take part in public service.“With privilege comes the responsibilityto become good contributing membersof the community.” He added that heloves the opportunity to debate ideasand emphasized how important it is to

“learn the art of being respectful and tolerant so you don’thurt others.”

A believer in collaborative arrangements, he said helearns a lot from the mayors of other cities. “It is importantto travel and see other cities,” he said. Simsbury FirstSelectman Mary Glassman, a former law school classmate of the mayor’s, joined him on stage during part of his talk.“It is great to be here on campus and to have Pedro here,”she said. She shared some efforts underway to increasecollaboration among capital region towns.

125 Turkeys Donated to Holiday Food DriveWestminster students loaded up 125 frozen turkeys into two school

vans and took them to a refrigerated trailer at Henry James MemorialSchool in Simsbury on Nov. 14 as the school’s contribution to theannual Jack Bannan’s Turkey Trot, a frozen turkey drive for theThanksgiving holiday. The student volunteers included members of FirstBoys’ Basketball and the Community Service Program.

The goal of the food drive was to collect 3,500 turkeys, 24,000pounds of nonperishable food and cash. The donations were given toFoodshare, which distributed the items to needy families in the regionthrough its warehouse in Bloomfield.

Jack Bannan, a former sixth grade teacher in the Simsbury PublicSchools, started the turkey drive 20 years ago. His daughter, MarianneBannan, was carrying on her father’s legacy at the food drop-offlocation this year and welcomed Westminster’s donation to the effort.“We love to see these kinds of gifts, which are very much appreciated,”she said. “This will give us a big jump toward our goal.”

Harford Mayor Pedro Segarra andSimsbury First Selectman MaryGlassman

Over the decades, as the nation moved through the industrial age into the information age,Westminster faced many challenges and achieved many successes from the Great Depression to the

magnificent Edge bequest. Through it all, Westminster maintained its balance and remained true to itsorigins as a caring community built on trust, shared beliefs and valued traditions.

Westminster has excelled at inculcating in young men and women qualities of character such asresponsibility, compassion, courage and honesty and takes pride that they go on to be the kind of

people who serve their communities well by leading with grit and grace.

Westminster’s ethos has remained intact for 125 years. Each headmaster, from Cushing to Philip,however their leadership styles may have differed, has understood, respected and preserved the

moral character of the school.

L O O K I N G B A C K

16

What better way to look back at the history of Westminster School

than through the eyes of its alumni. On the following pages are

reflections from one graduate from each decade going back to the

1930s about their time at Westminster as a student. The reflections

vary in form and in scope, with some focusing on individual

milestones and others on what was happening on campus or in

the world at the time. Collectively, they provide special insight into

life on the Hill across nine decades.

17


18

I lived those first years at Westminster in Junior

House, on the left when you came up

the hill. I feel foolish in a sense that I

had no real sense of what it meant to

go to boarding school, but I did not get

homesick. My freshman year roommate

was a chap named Rob Adriance ’35.I looked up to all of the seniors, of

course.

The two Rossiter brothers, Bill ’33and Clint ’35, from Bronxville, N.Y.,taught me the skill of hurdling, both

high and low. My favorite sport was

track. It just came like second nature. I

did hurdling all four years and the 400-yard dash.

The old track was a cinder track, not clay. Taft was

our big rival, emotionally, anyway. Taft and Choate

were both bigger schools.

Hockey kept me in shape. We iced over the

tennis courts in the early days when they were

located right in front of Memorial. We also made

sideboards. In later days, we went down the hill and

skated on the river. I had to get up at 5 o’clock in

the morning to have practice on the frozen river.

Almost all of our classes were in Memorial. Mr.

Huston and Mr. Pettee were deadly with chalk. If

they wanted someone’s attention, they would throw

chalk at them with deft accuracy. I never asked my

father what my marks were. I was one of these kind

of “Well there it is. Take me as I am.”

I had a great deal of familiarity with

Headmaster McOrmond’s family, and they had

influence on my Westminster

experience. They were just different

from my roommate. I spent a great

deal of time both during the school

year and vacation time — like the

summer — with them. I used to help

young “Mac” with his chores, and I

went sailing with them at their home

in Sachem’s Head.

Mr. McOrmond was never strict to

the point of invading the clubhouses or

any gathering of students who seemed

to chum together. You could just always

hear him coming down the hall with his leather heels

going “clip, clip, clip.” He was called “The Bull.” As

far as I was concerned, he was not the disciplinarian

that stood out. Neither was his wife, Alice. Somehow,

she and I became very good friends, and I owe

things to her. When I got into trouble, she would

admonish me. I had a special relationship with the

McOrmonds.

For school dances, we would invite individual

young ladies to visit who would be put up at the

The 1930s:Special Relationships andMemorable Experiences Dr. Roger Moore ’35

Left, Westminster’s third headmaster, Raymond McOrmond,and his wife, Alice. Above, Westminster’s second headmaster,Lemuel Gardner Pettee, who taught mathematics for 50 years.


19

school. The dances took place in the dining hall.

There were dances at other schools, too, and I can

remember going to one in Troy, N.Y.

When not in classes, we used to go downtown

often. It was good exercise. We went there to mess

around and maybe do some shopping or not.

One weekend, Fred Willets ’35 invited me to hishome. With his help, I had developed quite an

enthusiasm for the jazz at that time. We visited a

place in Harlem where all of the jazz musicians held

forth. We just went and listened, and I was able to

get up close to the bandstand and listen to this tenor

saxophonist named Coleman Hawkins.

Fred was a natural musician and could play

almost any instrument. He was the driving force

behind the band and there is a picture in one of the

yearbooks of us serenading the school at dinner. I

was a member of the Glee Club and the orchestra

because I played the piano.

One year, they had a ski jump in Salisbury and

some of us were daring to the degree of going all of

the way over there and then being caught because

we went out without permission.

In 1933, there was a significant fire at Ethel

Walker School. At that time, the Westminster School

authorities must have thought it was worth it

somehow to allow the students to walk across town

to see the fire. I remember I got back a little late

and got into trouble.

In the third year, I became quite good friends

with Avard Fuller ’35. He and I embarked on somecrazy stunts without too much urging. One weekend,

he was able to get permission to get in his Chris

Craft speedboat and go from where he had it moored

in Middletown and drive down to the shore. He

wanted to show me how seaworthy the boat was.

Well, we went through a passage at the tip of Long

Island known as Plum Gut, which was kind of rough,

and the waves broke over the boat and flooded the

engine compartment just enough so that we had to

get a lift to the nearest port. From there, we hired

somebody to empty the engine compartment enough

so that we could manage the boat on the way back.

We did this because we already had planned and had

permission to take Avard’s brand new convertible to

Chicago, staying with friends of the McOrmonds

along the way and then at the Edgewater Beach

Hotel, courtesy of Mr. Fuller. That was an

unforgettable experience.

I interviewed Prof Milliken at one time because

I just wanted to find out what he thought of my

becoming a teacher instead of a doctor. Of course,

I know full well, he had to answer figuratively

speaking since here was a college graduate all set

to go to medical school wanting to find out about

teaching. I was glad to go to medical school and

wouldn’t have had it any other way.

(Editor’s note: The interview for this article took place June 18, 2012, at Roger’s home in Sharon, Conn. Roger wasdelighted to be sharing some of his experiences at Westminster for this special issue of the Bulletin. Very sadly, Roger passedaway just eight days after our meeting, making our planned collaboration on the writing of this article impossible. Histhoughts about his time at Westminster were conveyed during our wonderful conversation that day.)

Above, Roger Moore, on the left, competing in a race againstHotchkiss School; and right, a dormitory room in Memorial.


The decade of the 1940s found the

nation shouldering its way out of the

Great Depression into a new prosperity

while the world was bleeding its way

through “the war to end all wars.” It

was a decade that found Westminster

standing stalwart amid the turbulence

of national and global events with an

institutional eye firmly on directing us

to that maturity which would enable us

to depart Williams Hill well equipped to

face — indeed, to influence — that turbulence.

We were a part of a Williams Hill family that

saw the school grow in size and cost while it

diminished in scope of enrollment with the

discontinuance of the First and Second Forms,

which had been part of the Dobbs Ferry origins.

While more than casually aware of such things

as the World Series competition in the “outside

world” — competition which pitted teams like the

Tigers, the Yankees and the Indians against teams

like the Cubs, the Dodgers and the Braves — we

were generally more enthralled with the outcome

of our traditional football rivalry with Pomfret, a

rivalry in which victory would free new students on

the Hill from the sartorial bondage of

the traditional black tie. They were also

years when we did our best to avoid the

disciplinary judgments of the

headmaster and the Sixth Form.

It was a time when we sometimes

shared in informal discussion about

hopes and plans for life beyond

education, but we paid little, if any,

attention to the effect that might be

anticipated from a 1949 spike in the

country’s minimum wage from 40 cents

to 75 cents an hour.

Also not to be forgotten was the stomach-

churning challenge of preluncheon public speaking as

one way to help keep us as a community up-to-date

about such diverse things as the First Arab-Israeli

War and the 1945 collision of a B-25 bomber with

the Empire State Building. As many of us have

subsequently and gratefully acknowledged, it was a

preluncheon challenge that provided a welcomed,

career-altering communications skill.

The 1940s:Hoot Charlie and an Intended DestinyPro Lyon ’49

20


In the fall of 1945, a decade before the Salk

vaccine was to be available, polio blighted the

campus and its host town, Simsbury, in the

uninhibited form of an epidemic that forced the

temporary shutting down of the school.

Teachers and coaches with names like Michelini,

Doane, Olmsted, Pettee, Hobbs and Gow intimidated

us with homework, hosted us with Sunday afternoon

teas and scorned us into athletic prowess, all the

while pointing us toward and empowering us for the

post-Westminster years to come.

The ’40s, such as they were, also gave us “Hoot!

Charlie.” Charlie was the watchman who toured the

campus each night, punching his time clock at

various stations. Charlie was always more apparition

than substance, always more defined by a lantern

beam than by bodily form and who, indeed, may

never have been seen by a student as a complete

human. When Charlie’s light was spied by one of us

in those darkened hours — only across, and always

across a darkened campus — we would offer a

nocturnal salute in the form of a prepubescent

“HOOT! Cha-r-r-r-lie.” It was a salute that was sure

to elicit a response in the form of a muffled “Hoot”

from his swinging lantern together with a vague

sense that there had to be a person who was

swinging the lantern.

Hoot Charlie was ever so appropriate a symbol

of the security in which our Westminster years were

wrapped. At the same time, he served in so many

ways as an apt representation of the hard-to-capture

and seemingly elusive maturity, which was our

intended destiny to be harvested from those long-ago

Williams Hill years.

Opposite page, studentsgather and makepresentations in WattsHall; top right, the FirstFootball team in 1949;below left, John Gow’sscience class; and belowright, students in the food line.

21


The power of Westminster Grit & Grace lives on.

Thinking about this phrase causes a flow of old

Westminster memories. Nobel Prize winner Daniel

Kahneman in his book “Thinking Fast

and Slow” points out that memories,

not just the experiences themselves,

are the only perspective we can adopt

as we think about our past. In other

words, it is the memory of the

experience, not the experience itself,

that impacts us with such force. I have

certainly found this to be true, and I

am very grateful to be able to share a

few key Westminster memories. I

believe each one, in its own unique

way, provides an insight about the lasting value of

Grit & Grace.

It all began in New Orleans when my father said

to me, “You know, son, when I was your age, I

dreamed of going to school in a different part of the

country. ... Now if I can work things out, would you

like to give this a try?” I answered, “Sure, Pops.”

Being a lawyer and the son of a lawyer, my father

knew never to ask another question when the

previous one brought the right answer. Who could

imagine how much that short conversation would

change my life?

Jumping to Conclusions When I arrived on the Hill in 1948, I, like other

new students, was given a black tie to be worn

everywhere at all times, and I do mean all. However,

if Westminster won the Pomfret football game in

November, we could quit wearing the

ties. The bad news was Pomfret was

heavily favored that year. The night

before the game, the entire school

community of about 150 boys crowded

into the Common Room, now called

Fearn Hall, shouting cheers. Suddenly

everyone was quiet as into the middle

of the room stepped Mr. Pettee, the

white haired former headmaster. He

was dignified, excited, confident and

full of grace as he held up recent

newspaper headlines declaring Thomas Dewey elected

president. This was an error for sure because Harry

Truman had easily won. After a long pause, Mr.

Pettee cautioned us not to jump to conclusions. “We

can beat Pomfret,” he asserted. “So bring home the

bacon.” And win we did! Black ties were torn off,

and at dinner that night, the football captain, amidst

a thunderous roar, gave Mr. Pettee a humongous

slab of bacon.

The 1950s:The Power of Grit & GraceBill McClendon ’51

22


Celebrating WinterMy room the first year at Westminster was on

the third floor of Headmaster Milliken’s house and

was a perfect place from which to celebrate my first

cold winter. One of the ways I did this was to make a

very long icicle. I suspended from my window a tin

can of water with a string attached to a hole in the

bottom of the can. I also added blue ink to the water

to make the icicle more distinctive. What a disaster!

After the icicle formed and thawed, the entire side of

the house was streaked with blue ink. I apologized

profusely. Later in February, Mr. Milliken gave me a

birthday card with this advice: “Bill, never confuse

being popular with being respected.”

Slowing and Settling Down Head football coach Ron Michelini was the most

respected disciplinarian while I was a student. His

look made you freeze. One night when I was on

service duty in the dining hall, I hurried to clear Mr.

Michelini’s table. The empty plates were filled with

leftover gravy, and I was a little nervous as I picked

up his plate. Just then, his knife and fork started to

slide, and I couldn’t stop them. They fell off his plate

and gravy spilled onto his tie. I quickly apologized,

expecting an explosion any minute, but everyone

was quiet. Instead, the coach graciously commented,

“McClendon, slow down and you will live longer.”

By my Sixth Form year, things had settled down.

I was nicknamed “Alligator Whiskers” or “Colonel.”

Some even referred to me as the “Southern

Exchange Student” because I was the first student

from the South in more than 35 years. But, thanks

to Westminster’s guidance, upon graduation, I

progressed from being referred to as the “Southern

Exchange Student” to becoming an English Speaking

Union Exchange Student at The Leys School in

Cambridge, England.

For me, each of these stories as a Westminster

student exemplifies the dynamic tension existing

between the will to win — grit, and the need to be

civil — grace. This important dynamic has played a

part in my life ever since and even became the

central theme in a book I published in 2011 titled

“Deal Makers, Negotiating More Effectively Using

Timeless Values.” Yes, the power of Westminster

Grit & Grace lives on.

Opposite page, Rankine Hinman’s class; above left, a view of Cushing Hall with the water tower in the background;above right, students working on the campus radio station; below left, Ron Michelini’s table in the dining hall; and below right, students watching television.

23


Nov. 9, 1965, is remembered as a pleasant but chilly

fall evening in the Farmington Valley of Connecticut.

Just as dusk was descending, assorted

members of the Fifth Form were

gathering on the second floor corridor

of Memorial Building. In those days,

Memorial was a hub of activity, with

residences on top and almost all of the

school’s classrooms located on the first

floor and basement.

The Times Were a-Changin’In 1965, we perched unknowingly on

the cusp of major social upheaval.

President Kennedy’s assassination in

1963 was viewed as an isolated event in the context

of the faded memory of the McKinley assassination

62 years earlier or Lincoln’s a mere 98 years before;

not as the first in a series of horrific murders of

public figures. The War on Poverty and Great Society

were nascent concepts. The Civil Rights Act and

Voting Rights Act had just become law, and, while

racial protests were starting to resonate through the

Southern states, most of New England remained

sleepy and conformist, oriented toward college

and career. Steve Sanger ’65 would not become

Westminster’s first casualty in Vietnam for another

year. The war was still distant and largely

irrelevant. That fall, the Westminster football team

was methodically grinding its way to an undefeated

season for the first time in 51 years. Life was good.

On Nov. 9, at just about 5:30 p.m., I was

stretched out on my bed in a cramped

single room, contemplating that nothing

of even marginal excitement ever

happened on the Westminster campus.

As if to rebut my complaint, the light

in my room suddenly dimmed and went

out. I was irritated at the thought that

I would now have to procure a new

light bulb to complete the night’s

trigonometry assignment. I stepped

out into the corridor and registered

surprise: the entire floor was bathed

in darkness.

Brothers in OhmsIt was not altogether uncommon for somebody to

blow a fuse in Memorial, especially given its mature

wiring and the cornucopia of solid-state equipment

tucked safely away in the dorm room of the two

seniors across the hall from me. Their room featured

enough inventory to open Greater Simsbury’s largest

electronics store. Somewhere in a drawer, amidst the

The 1960s:The Night the Lights Went Out David Keene ’67

Above, a view of a dormitory room and, right, a student debate. Opposite page, student entertainment and discussion.

24


stereo equipment and the powerful short-wave radio,

was a small black-and-white television set. A high

point of the coming year would be watching the

Rolling Stones’ live appearance on the Ed Sullivan

show.

Not surprisingly, no one on the corridor took

responsibility for offing the power. While the seniors

huddled up to decide on a course of action, someone

came in the building and announced that the

electricity was out on the entire campus. Then

someone got the bright idea to turn on a portable

radio. By the time we made the trek over to Cushing

and sat down for our first and only Westminster

candlelight supper, word had spread: there was a

massive power outage from New Jersey to Ontario,

and nobody knew the cause. All of New York City

was dark. Whatever the power outage was, it was

indubitably real, and it was widespread.

The Russians Are ComingRumors spread on the isolated campus faster than

influenza. This was 1965, after all. James Bond and

Dr. Strangelove were cultural icons, and the threat of

Communist bombers or Cuban missiles was a very

realistic image. By the time dinner was over, we half

expected to wake the next day surrounded by alien

gunboats, or maybe Russian paratroopers. In the

coming days, commentators would theorize that UFOs

were responsible. A popular song at the time was the

Skeeter Davis classic “The End of the World.”

Another was Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction.”

We were singing both on the way back to the dorm.

The good news: Without electricity, homework

was impractical. Back at Memorial, we gathered in

the small suite of Mr. Ide, a first-year teacher, who

read us ghost stories by candlelight into the late

hours, until sleep overcame us.

Brave New WorldIt was later determined that two maintenance men in

Southern Ontario were to blame for setting a safety

relay too low several days earlier. A power surge

from Western New York tripped the relay,

redirecting a massive surge south and east, leaving

some 80,000 square miles and more than 30 million

people in the dark for up to 12 hours. (So the

Internet says.)

As Nov. 10 dawned, the feeling of imminent

crisis dissipated. No invading troops, no evil-looking

spaceship hovering overhead. Football and soccer

and classes continued unabated, and the great

blackout of 1965 was largely forgotten.

In 1938, Orson Welles had produced a radio

broadcast of a program called “War of the Worlds”

which was premised on an invasion of Earth by

Martian warlords. Although Welles gave a disclaimer

that the program was a work of fiction before the show

aired, many citizens who missed that announcement

believed the event was real and reacted in panic. I

like to think we were much more sophisticated by

1965, but maybe we were just not provided with a

convincing interstellar explanation.

25


In October of my eighth grade year,

I set foot on Westminster’s campus to

watch my older brother’s football game.

I was just starting the second and final

year of what was then known as junior

high. My school was large and

impersonal, and generally

unremarkable. I knew my parents

wanted me to visit a couple of the local

independent schools to explore the idea

of a private school. I hadn’t really

given it much thought until that

afternoon, while standing on the sidelines of my

brother’s game. I can still remember how I felt on

that day. There was something so completely

different and exciting about the atmosphere on the

Westminster campus. I observed the many students,

parents and faculty members who were out cheering

for the football team. I knew at that moment that I

wanted to be a part of the Westminster community.

In the fall of 1973, I enrolled at Westminster as

a Third Former. That year was only the third year

of coeducation for the school. The original “dirty

dozen,” as the first girls were labeled, paved the

road for those of us who followed in the next few

years. There were some bumps along the way as

Westminster transitioned from a male institution to a

coed school. I believe there was a “girls’ gripe” group

that would meet every so often to discuss issues

facing the girls. For the most part,

though, we were thrown into the mix

and expected to make our way.

Every student was required to play

on a sports team each season. I played

field hockey, indoor tennis and lacrosse

that first year. In the early ’70s, there

were no organized town sports for girls,

so this was my first experience being a

member of a team and competing

against other schools. I loved the drives

to away games, singing and talking

nonstop, and saying cheers like, “For

the gold, the gold, the gold team gold, my back’s

breakin’, my pants too tight, my hips are shakin’

from left to right, saying gold, gold, gold power!”

Returning to campus after a game, we would pull

down the windows of our yellow school bus and yell

out the score of our game to anyone ambling across

campus. We were especially proud when we beat

bigger schools or all-girls schools, which we routinely

did despite our small numbers.

The fashions and styles during those years were

not as different from what you see today as you

might imagine. Many of the girls wore their hair

The 1970s:Remembering the PeopleBini Worcester Egertson ’77

26

Perhaps the most significant milestone in the 1970s was the move to coeducation.


long and straight and parted down the middle. For

athletic contests, as they were often called in those

days, hair would be pulled back and adorned with a

grosgrain ribbon that matched one’s uniform. For

footwear, you would see all sorts of L.L. Bean shoes

and boots, Tretorn sneakers, clogs, Dr. Scholl’s and

espadrilles. Thin and wide wale corduroy pants,

patchwork and Fair Isle sweaters were a common

look around campus.

What I remember most, though, about my four

years at Westminster are the people. There were so

many wonderful and caring faculty members who

pushed all of us to become better versions of

ourselves. The talented Gilmans, who had only the

highest expectations for the chorus, and as a result,

inspired us to produce beautiful music. We were also

fortunate to be invited several times a year into

their home, where we enjoyed delicious dinners and

mouthwatering desserts. Mr. Adams, who taught

English and then later East Asian history and

exposed us to a different part of the world and to a

new way of thinking. Mr. Burdett, speaker of many

languages, whose classroom walls were decorated

with posters of his favorite star, Brigitte Bardot, and

with pithy statements like “avoid obfuscation.” (I can

remember looking up that word!) Mr. Hovey, of the

gravelly voice, who commanded respect and had all

of us rising to our feet the minute he entered the

classroom. Mr. Hopley, with his endless patience,

who taught us how to do Latin declensions and the

relevance of a dead language. These are just a few

of the many teachers who reached us in the

classrooms, on the playing fields and in the many

other unscripted moments of life at a boarding

school.

As students, we were exposed to kids from

around the country and the world. Many of the

relationships that we formed in those years remain

constant. Some of my closest friends today are

friends that I made during my high school years. It

was never the bricks and mortar that mattered at

Westminster. It was always about the relationships

formed amongst the faculty and the students, and

the importance of being a contributing member of

the community.

27

Above left, girls’ sports teams included girls'lacrosse on which Bini Worcester played; belowleft, Bruce Burdett’s class; and above right,students on the quad.


I woke up in a dream about

the ’80s.

The Violent Femmes are

humming in my head.

Lacrosse players by Memorial are flaunting,

Ken Stone’s four-question chemistry test is haunting.

I play backgammon with Nick and Greg instead.

Everything seems possible in the ’80s.

Baxter computers help type our latest task.

Printers loudly scratch out embryonic lines.

Huge Walkmans are the rockin’ iPods of our times.

With Belushi and Eddie Murphy, we all have a blast.

Don Werner is our headmaster in the ’80s.

He sets the tone for greatness on the Hill.

Amazing teachers like Mr. Jackson inspire.

Hovey, Stevens, Randall… light a f***’n fire!

I’m jogging ‘round misty fields when all is still.

It’s all about friendship in the ’80s

No cell phones, texting, Facebook… How old!

Let’s meet, prank, chew or chat face to face

Behind the student center or other sacred place.

Road trip! U2, Dead concert… struck gold!

A storm comes blowing through in the ’80s.

We hunker down with Rapini and catch Miami Vice.

Gloria comes howling, shining, then gets tired.

Our community unites, rebuilds when she’s expired.

Did you see that wicked Brian Leetch kid on our ice?

Mr. Philip is a fine swimming coach in the ’80s.

He’s patient with us guys in the far lane.

McDee steams past a Deerfield giant… we won!

Now how to hide our shaved legs in the sun?

Can we get a bigger tub for all the pain?

There are many rising stars in the ’80s.

Our physics teacher, Mr. Warner, is in contention

To board the Shuttle Challenger for space.

Christa McAuliffe shines and wins the historic race.

On 1/28 we mourn both her and a dream’s

suspension.

Assembly is serious business in the ’80s.

Eloquent head prefects deserve a warm mention.

The 1980s:Westminster inthe ’80sRicky Padro ’87

28

Left, students in front of Baxter Academic Center andabove, Michael Jackson’s class.


But the meeting which I loved above all the rest

Was led by a Munster-beloved parent… guest.

Fred Gwynne’s height and humor commanded our

attention.

Ethnicity makes some inroads in the ’80s.

Am I beautiful “in spite of” or “because of” my color?

There are a growing handful of us at the school.

Maybe somebody thinks we’re relevant, cool?

Mr. Batchelder and I lead a sermon on MLK Jr.,

quite stellar!

Perestroika reaches The Hill in the ’80s.

“Chooda!” (Miracle!) The Soviet ice begins to crack.

As the sinister smoke from Chernobyl clears,

Rodney and Burdett teach us Russian; we prepare.

Ambassadors to Gogol’s Leningrad! I vow to go

back!

That surreal trip in the ’80s changes both my life

and that of my wife.

Secret white-night toast on Nevsky Prospect…

Cautious Russian friends (“droozya”) idolize our

home.

Our free shores, to them, are far grander than Rome.

In proud Uzbekistan, no shorts; Westies show

respect.

I admire my fellow Martlets in the ’80s.

They are energized, involved, engaged and brave.

Mature leaders devour activities with drive.

Sports, Choir, Dramat, Holly Hill, Debate… come

alive!

Adversity only sparks a rally, feeding the next

wave.

Todd Eckerson’s corridor is cool in the ’80s.

I dream of Yale while on a musty hammock lying.

The bombing of Libya keeps us up one weird night.

Bob Marley reassures that the world can be all

right.

My chess bro’, Dave, becomes an Eli! I must keep

trying!

Westminster teachers believe in us in the ’80s.

It’s really not so difficult to do.

We are reflections of their magnificent work, sweat

and tears.

Besides, everything seems possible in the Reagan

years.

As a teacher, I now try to believe in my students

(and their future) too.

Above left, Coach Bill Philip with the boys’swim team; below left, members of the JohnHay Society including Ricky Padro, in frontrow; and above right, a girls’ dormitory room;

29


As I reflect on how Westminster and the

community of faculty and friends shaped us in our

years as students in the 1990s, what

comes to mind is how those experiences

and relationships continue to influence

and support us in our years as alumni.

There is a pressure to represent

exactly how formative and

transformative our time at Westminster

was across all the students of the

1990s, with our diversity of

backgrounds, interests, dreams and

subsequent paths. The best analogy I

have for this task is when I was asked

to speak at our commencement. I

remember feeling pressure to provide some

perspective on the journey that nearly 100

graduating Sixth Formers had just completed and on

the many different ones ahead; above all, I felt an

overwhelming need to represent the importance of

the occasion in a memorable way.

I vaguely remember speaking about how our

time on the Hill culminated with such power and

meaning, with every Sixth Former confident that

they would hold on to friendships and memories with

the same clarity and strength of that moment. But,

like a breeze rippling across the surface of a pond

and distorting the images reflected upon on it, so too

would our memories blur with the passage of time.

What would be left of our experiences at Westminster

would be the essence of them. When we would think

back to our time in the classroom, on the fields and

in the dorms, the stories and specifics would be

replaced by a general warmth, a

knowing smile. We can almost hear

ourselves laughing about something

funny from assembly, but no longer

remember the joke. We can still feel the

heat of the fall bonfire, but only have

some old pictures to remind us what we

looked like — black-and-gold-painted

faces aglow from the flames.

While the sharp edges of our

Westminster experiences and memories

may be smudged over time, they also

fuse together to help create our core, a

foundation of knowledge and character on which we

build the rest of our lives. Time may rob us of that

clarity, but it actually sharpens our perspectives on

those experiences. I personally know I have a deeper

appreciation now for how much I grew intellectually,

emotionally, spiritually and in maturity during my

four years on the Hill. I gained confidence and

presence. I was encouraged and supported to take

risks and explore the vast world beyond my comfort

The 1990s:A Foundation for the Presentand the FutureLauren Polo Patnaude ’99

30


zone. At every turn, I was taught that the

importance of being a good person matched that of

achieving a great outcome. The values of integrity,

humility and community were central to the broader

academic and life curricula we learned from the

hallways of Baxter to the stands of Jackson Hockey

Rink during a cold night game. Indeed, Westminster

seeded a deep value system that has been a guiding

force in my life after the Hill. I have a desire to

“pay-forward” the pervasive mentorship culture

and development orientation that characterize

Westminster in many aspects of my current life,

personally and professionally.

Ironically, that analogy about a pond and a

breeze is about all the content I remember from the

10 minutes that I spoke the day we graduated. In

writing this reflection, I tried to dig up the file for

my speech as a starting point. A part of me wanted

to see how directly the last almost 15 years had

actually mapped to my speculation of them at 18

years old. What I realized was that it wasn’t a fair

exercise. What I thought Westminster was about at

the time I stood on Commencement Lawn was so

narrow. Now, over a decade and a half later, I have

been able to open the aperture and see in how many

varied ways my experiences at Westminster have

and continue to shape my life. And while some

memories have faded, others have formed anew as

relationships with other Martlets — former

classmates and others — have formed or been

deepened across my journeys as an alumna. Friends,

faculty and staff on the Hill comprised a sort of

second family for me — one that helped challenge

and develop me; one that invested heavily in me to

allow me to succeed; one to whom I am deeply

indebted; and one from whom I continue to draw

upon as the foundation for the present and the

future.

31

Opposite page, commencement; above left,students in the school store in BaxterAcademic Center; below left, singing withthe choir; and right, Edge House, whichopened in 1996.


Dec. 31, 1999, was a day as

unique as it was unusual. With the

weather a balmy 61 degrees, the day

added to one of the warmest winters

since the 1890s. As bizarre as it was,

the climate data point fit right into an

“end of the world” narrative that was

more and more convincing by the hour.

For months, we had watched businesses

and Congress get ready for a crisis as

the Federal Emergency Management

Agency (FEMA) issued numerous

preparedness warnings. People across the country

hoarded canned goods, bottled water and even

firewood in the event the utility companies shut

down. The new millennium was upon us and, along

with it, the software crash of the ages: Westminster,

meet Y2K.

On this same warm winter day, Williams Hill

was quiet in hibernation, awaiting the return of

students from a historic break. Edge House, just

three years old, stood elegantly as the prototype of

a future campus. Memorial Hall, with its striking

renovation only a year old, added to the wonder

of what life at Westminster had in store. A new

common space served as an environment to share

experiences after a demanding day of school and

sports. Brand new dorm rooms instilled a sense of

comfort and pride for students living

miles away from home. Westminster

had set a strong foundation to thrive in

the 2000s, and the time had finally

come.

As the clock struck 12 a.m. in the

United States and the year 2000

became a reality, everyone breathed a

sigh of relief. The front page of The

New York Times captured the mood

perfectly in a headline: “Computers

Prevail in First Hours of ’00.” The

television still worked, the heat stayed

on and bank accounts had not magically gained or

lost any funds. The Y2K crisis had been averted and

life was back to normal. Students eagerly tapped

away at their Nokia dial pads to send messages

about their excitement to friends and family. School

and post-holiday athletic practices may have loomed

in the future, but at least the world had not ended.

The Y2K scare could have been a major blow to

the general trust and comfort the Westminster

community had in technology. As the year

progressed and the dot-com boom continued,

The 2000s:Facing the New MillenniumTodd McDonald ’00

Left, computers in the technology classroom of Baxter Academic Center and, right, the Darling Library.

32


however, it became evident that we could never look

back. For students, new technologies would change

the way we think, learn and interact. Aspects of

Westminster’s campus would transform to the point

of being unrecognizable to those who had walked the

halls just years before. From the opposite

perspective, it is amusing to think that student

experiences at the turn of the millennium — just 13

years ago — could be unrecognizable to students

attending Westminster today.

How peculiar would it sound if a student doing

research for a history paper today walked into the

library and asked for the CD-ROM version of Encarta

or the Encyclopedia Britannica? Imagine the chuckles

that would result if students entered the “cutting

edge” Armour Academic Center computer lab

outfitted with the newly launched, boxy and brightly

colored computer-in-a-monitor called the iMac. And

how humorous is the idea of day students washing

dusty chalkboards as a daily chore? When compared

to the prevalence of interactive whiteboards that

automatically save class notes to the “cloud,” it

sounds like a good joke.

These differences in experiences seem like

comparisons of a Westminster many decades apart.

The reality is that the acceleration of technology has

transformed school life faster than many imagined.

Despite all of this change and competition for a

student’s time and focus, Westminster has harnessed

these innovations to protect and improve upon the

core principles we all know. Where mobile technology

could disrupt the student-teacher relationship,

Westminster has embraced innovation in the

classroom to prepare students for a digital future.

Where social networking could detract from

traditions of forming strong personal bonds,

Westminster has led in fostering a strong sense of

community by interacting with students and alumni

in all formats. The school carefully balances its

passion for progress with its commitment to

tradition, reflecting the grit and grace by which

members of its community live. For that reason, we

know that in 10 years, we may not recognize how

Westminster looks, but we will still know the

principles on which it stands.

33

Above left, Eliza Childs’Spanish class in BaxterAcademic Center; above right,students enjoying a sunny dayon the Sixth Form Lawn; andright, a stickball game.


Of all the things Westminster taught me, two

things proved the most difficult for me to learn.

One of them was how to make a blazer

look good. The other was how to play

hockey. On paper, my time on the ice

looks relatively successful: of the two

seasons I spent on Second Girls’

Hockey, the first was undefeated

and the second only missed being

undefeated by a few games. In reality,

however, it must be said that during

those two winters, I spent fewer

minutes on the ice and more minutes

accepting prepackaged hand warmers

from charitable onlookers than did any

of my teammates.

Why I decided to play hockey in the first place

is a bit foggy to me now. I suppose at the time, it

seemed like a safer option than subjecting my 5-foot-

1-inch self to basketball. But exactly what faulty

logic had led me away from sports where one does

not have to balance on thin metal blades and,

instead, led me down the incredibly icy hill to night

practices at the rink, I don’t remember. Regardless

of reasoning, though, I was ready to start slow, and

start slow I most certainly did.

My first day of hockey, I learned two things.

One, I learned how to put my pads on correctly. This

was a process that was more complicated than I had

anticipated it to be, and it took about half an hour

for me to get myself out of the mess of Velcro I had

gotten myself into and put everything back on in the

right order. Two, I learned to stop. I say this not

because I was able to stop effectively after that first

practice, but because this was when I was first

taught how to stop. In the weeks that it took me to

master the technique, I was left to employ some

alternative methods. I don’t mean to

suggest that slamming into the boards,

falling over, tripping or attempting to

grab onto the goal while tripping, only

to slam into the boards and fall over

aren’t completely effective, but it was

a relief when I could finally stop

properly.

As the season got underway and

we found our winning streak, I was

perfectly happy to warm up with the

team on game days and then loudly

support them from the bench for the

rest of the afternoon. I was obviously terrified, then,

when one Saturday in February, my coach told me

that he planned on putting me in.

I should note at this point that the team we

were up against that day was not known for its

sportsmanship or ability. They were a group of girls

who outsized me by an average of seven inches and

about 80 pounds, and were known, instead, for

plowing down people who stood in their way. I,

therefore, skated cautiously out of the box, trying to

keep up with the puck but not get close enough to it

to be a target, when all of the sudden, I found it

The 2010s:Finding Support in YourWeaknessesKatie Hill ’11

34


resting against my stick. I headed down the ice

blinded first by panic and then by the huge opposing

player blocking my path and barely managed to hit

the puck as hard as I could before she slammed me

into the boards. She was too late, though. The shot

went in.

I struggled in my initial shock to find words to

express that feeling, but soon words did come to me

— words like pride, amazement and affirmation that

my struggles had been worth something. Also words

like pain and dizziness surfaced, since the girl had

hit my head with fairly considerable strength, but

mainly more of the positive thoughts were on my

mind. I skated triumphantly back over to the bench,

and as all my teammates congratulated me, I

realized why I liked playing hockey.

This was a group of girls who were cheering me

for doing something they had probably done for the

first time when they were in elementary school. It

was not a very big achievement in the first place,

and we were up by so many goals that mine hardly

made a difference, but they recognized that it was

significant to me. When our season finished,

undefeated, I felt as though I had actually

contributed something to the team besides

encouragement from the sidelines. Teachers and

parents who knew I had played hockey would

commend me as if I had been important to our

victories. It didn’t matter at that point that I was a

terrible hockey player, what mattered was that my

time playing hockey was by far the most fun I have

ever had failing at anything. Good communities

support you in your talents, but it takes a great

community to support you in your weaknesses,

hand warmers and all.

Opposite page, Katie Hill with herSecond Girls’ Hockey team; aboveleft, members of the Class of 2010with then Headmaster GrahamCole in the mechanical room ofthe newly opened ArmourAcademic Center with a 50-yeartime capsule; above right,Headmaster Bill Philip speaks atan assembly in the ArmourAcademic Center; and right,students cheer during a hockeygame at the Jackson Hockey Rink.

35

36

Sharing HistoryWhen Ginny Durfee ’15 and Julia Cooper ’15 arrived at Westminster as Third Formers in fall 2011,

they were looking forward to meeting other students and forming new friendships. The two

became instant friends. What they were surprised to discover, however, was that their new

friendship was rooted in Westminster history. Their paternal grandfathers, Sherman B. Durfee ’54

and Peter N. Cooper ’54, had met as Third Formers on the Hill 61 years earlier and had become

best of friends. What were the odds of having this in common? They wanted to learn more.

Early RootsSherm Durfee and Peter Cooper entered Westminster’s

Class of 1954 in 1950. They were a part of a group of 17new students who were joining 12 original members of theclass who had attended the lower school. Sherm was fromProvidence, R.I., and had been directed to Westminster byhis father who was good friends with Headmaster Arthur“Prof” Milliken. “I needed a structured life at that point,”said Sherm. “I was sent to Westminster because my parentsthought it was a good place for me to go and be under thetutelage of Arthur Milliken.” Peter, on the other hand, wasfrom Point Shares, Bermuda, and knew about Westminsterfrom his older brother, Kirk, who was a member of the Class

of 1951. While a student at Eaglebrook School, Peter visitedWestminster for an athletic competition and decided that ifhis brother had been happy at Westminster, he would be too.

“It was probably the most peaceful decade we have hadin 60 or 70 years,” said Sherm about life at Westminster inthe early 1950s. “Everyone seemed to be able to have a goodtime and didn’t have all of the worries that are pressing theworld today.”

Peter played football and baseball and was on theswimming team. He also managed the first hockey team andwas a cheerleader. Sherm played football and hockey andwas captain of the track team. He also sang in the choir and


37

with numerous singing groups. “Sports weren’t really whatbrought us together,” said Sherm. “It was about socialcontact and being good friends and spending a lot of timetogether.” They both enjoyed participating in the DramaticAssociation and serving on the Dance Committee.Membership on the Dance Committee was a prestigiousresponsibility that involved working with the wife of theheadmaster, Sue Milliken, to set up dances and DanceWeekend.

“We were pretty good pals from the beginning,” addedPeter. “There was a group of us who hung out. Everyonewent to the largest dorm rooms because you could get morepeople into them.”

According to both, life on the Hill was somewhat formalat the time. At family style dinners, which took place everynight, Peter recalls Prof and Sue Milliken standing afterdinner so everyone could shake their hands. “He wouldalways say to me, ‘Peter, are you humble?’ and I would say,‘Yes, sir. I am humble,’ and then wewould say ‘goodnight.’”

One sought-after social activitywas traveling to New York City. “Wehad very limited weekends, so if youcould get a weekend permission, threeor four of us would take a train fromHartford to New York City,” saidSherm. “It was very structured, andwe didn’t get many weekends off.Most of us lived far enough away soyou couldn’t go home.”

Sherm and Peter also enjoyedgetting together during school breaksin Bermuda, where Peter lived. “Oneyear, we were able to get six or sevenclassmates to go to Bermuda for springbreak,” said Peter. “We calledourselves Bermuda University. Wedidn’t want to be prep school fellows.The Bermudian government was veryliberal in entertaining students whovisited, so we had a lot of fun.”

Another one of Peter’s memorableoff-campus excursions actuallyhappened as a part of an English classwhen he and Sherm and a group ofother students traveled to Hartford tosee a film version of “Macbeth.” “Noteacher went with us,” recalled Peter.“There were responsible, designatedsenior student drivers who wereallowed to drive school cars to helpget students off campus for whateverwas necessary. When we walked past atattoo parlor, somebody said, ‘I’ll do itif you do it.’ The guy who started itgot his arm tattooed, and I followed.There were about four or five of us

who got tattoos that night. I still have it today, and it is notvery pretty.”

Technology was hardly the driving social force it istoday. “It went about as far as the typewriter and thedictating machine,” said Sherm. “Television was around, butwe certainly didn’t have television available in our lives atschool. If you wanted to call someone, you had to use thepay phone.”

“There was one pay phone in Main Building, and it wasbusy all of the time,” explained Peter. “It was especially busywhen we were trying to get dates for dances and DanceWeekend. We didn’t have phones in our rooms. We also triedto get very friendly with the secretary in the main office sinceshe would sometimes let us make a call from her phone if noone else was in there.”

Dance Weekend was a premiere social event of the year.“For Dance Weekend, I remember my girlfriend stayed withone of the masters who had a spare room,” said Peter. “The

girls attended the dance, watched theirboyfriends play a sport, went to thechapel service and saw the school play.Each guy would fill out a dance cardfor his girlfriend with the names ofboys she would be dancing with. Youwould make sure the boys you put onher dance card were no competition toyourself. Sherm was on my girlfriend’sdance card for sure.”

Peter ended up marrying hisgirlfriend, Barbara, who was also fromBermuda and attended boardingschool in Canada. He proposed thenight of his Westminster graduation ata party at a classmate’s home. “Ididn’t ask permission from my motheror my father,” he said. “They didn’tknow anything about it.” The couplewaited two years for the wedding andhave been married 57 years. Barbarahas many fond memories of visitingWestminster and even had a poem anda photograph published in theWestminster News.

Following graduation, Shermattended Yale University and Peterattended New York University’sSchool of Retailing. As a member ofthe Yale Whiffenpoofs singing group,Sherm continued to visit Peter inBermuda. “I ended up spending aconsiderable amount of time with himthere because of the Whiffenpoofs andfamily visits,” said Sherm. “We sharedan interest really long after school. Wewere in each other’s weddings, kept intouch over the years and have seeneach other at reunions.”

Opposite page, Ginny Durfee ’15, left,and Julia Cooper ’15, right, areroommates in Edge House.

Top, Ginny with her grandfather ShermDurfee ’54. Above, Julia with hergrandfather Peter Cooper ’54.


38

A New ChapterIn 2011, their friendship began a new chapter when they

each heard news that their granddaughters, Ginny and Julia,were admitted to Westminster School. The idea of havinggranddaughters attend their alma mater was something theynever imagined decades earlier. “The thought of boys andgirls being together there in those days was a far throw,”said Sherm. “You never thought it was going to happen. The school has come a long way.”

“I was over the moon when Julia got in,” said Peter.“And then when she got there and liked it so much, thatmade me even happier. I had no influence at all. I was just inthe background, as her mother and father let her make thedecision where she wanted to go.”

“Ginny’s admission to Westminster was very nostalgicand meaningful,” saidSherm. “I had followedher process of looking atschools and atWestminster. I knewwhat the school actuallydid for me in improvingmy life and turning mearound in the rightdirection. She didn’tneed what I needed, but she is very happy.Westminster is theperfect place for her.”

Both grandfathershad some grandfatherlyadvice for theirgranddaughters aboutattending Westminster.

“I told Ginny to just keep her grades up and to takeadvantage of what all the school has to offer,” said Sherm.“The school is well run, and it is an incredible opportunityto develop yourself in the right direction and get yourselfprepared to go to college.” Similarly, Peter said the onlyadvice he could give Julia was, “Nowadays, the school hasno tolerance for naughtiness, so don’t mess around.”

Not unexpectedly, both say Westminster has changed alot since they were students. “The facilities that the schoolhas today are second to none,” said Peter. “The life there haschanged dramatically with technology and everything thatgoes on today. From my days there to her days now, there ishardly any comparison at all, except to say that things arebetter.”

Although life on theHill has greatly changed,Sherm says there iscommonality in theWestminster experienceover the years. “It isabout growing up,” hesaid. “It is aboutlearning about otherpeople’s concerns andcares and how to bemore considerate towardthem and toward theworld. It is aneducational processabout living in a societyand a unique world. Itwill round out yourcharacter.”

Right, students and theirguests at a dance; andbelow, a dance card Petersaved from a Westminsterdance showing the namesof those who danced withhis girlfriend, later tobecome his wife, includingSherm.

Sherm, second from left, and Peter, fourth from left, were members of thesatirical singing group, the Harmonotones.


39

Comparing ExperiencesGinny and Julia, who are now in their second year at

Westminster, are roommates and like to play squash andtennis. They also enjoy listening to music, watching TV andmovies on their computers, attending hockey games anddances, and taking walks into town to visit Starbucks, Little City Pizza or to get ice cream.

The girls recall discovering the history of theirgrandfathers’ friendship very soon after they met on theirfirst day at Westminster. Their parents helped them uncoverthe coincidence. They say all of their friends now knowabout their grandfathers’ ties to one another. “At first Ididn’t think it was that cool, and then I thought, how oddthat it happened,” said Julia. “Ginny and I do havepretty similar lifestyles. We like sports and do thesame things in our free time.”

Growing up, both girls had heard theirgrandfathers talk about one another and some oftheir Westminster experiences. “I had never heard of Ginny before, but I had heard stories about hergrandfather from my grandfather,” said Julia. “Theyhad been in each other’s weddings,” exclaimedGinny. “It was really surprising and funny.”

Julia and Ginny are pleased with their decisionsto attend Westminster. “I really love the communityfeel in the sense that everyone is so friendly toeveryone else,” said Julia. “I also like all of theopportunities it offers. I have been busy all of thetime here.” Ginny’s thoughts echoed Julia’s. “I haveonly known people a year, but I already considerthem my best friends. I like the smallness of thecommunity and the friendships standout.”

The girls are also fond of some of the traditionalparts of campus life. “I love Candlelight and theLawn Ceremony,” said Ginny. “And I really likehow there are parts of the school that are still old,like Hinman Reading Room,” said Julia. “You havethe best of both worlds with the modern academic centerand the older rooms with a lot of character.”

Julia met Ginny’s grandparents, Sherm and Bzee, atGrandparents’ Day in fall 2011, soon after she and Ginnystarted school. Her grandparents, Peter and Barbara, werehoping to visit from Bermuda and all four of them would gettogether, but an illness prevented that from happening.“When Ginny’s grandma and grandpa came, and I got tomeet them, that was very exciting,” said Julia.

Ginny then visited Julia in Bermuda last summer andwas able to meet Julia’s grandparents. “Julia’s grandfatherserved tea and biscuits and showed us his yearbook,”recalled Ginny. “He said, ‘Look, here is your grandfather’and told stories about them together. My grandpa was thedaredevil and her grandpa was the first to get engaged andmarried. It was really fun.” “After a while, we called hergrandpa on the phone and told him we wished he could bethere too,” added Julia.

For Easter and part of winter break last year, Julia

visited Ginny’s home in Bedford Hills, N.Y., where hergrandparents live right down the road.

Was there anything that surprised Ginny and Julia abouttheir grandfathers’ experiences at Westminster? “The all-boysthing I just can’t believe,” said Ginny. “Also, the fact thatthey lived in Memorial and Cushing makes the campus seemso much smaller then.”

Both girls like having Westminster in common with theirgrandfathers. “It is fun to talk with my grandfather andcompare how different it was when he was here,” saidGinny. “He definitely has a lot of Westminster pride.” AndJulia says she is honored to follow in her grandfather’sfootsteps. “It makes him so proud.”

While the girls are now attending a school that hasevolved in many ways from the one their grandfathersattended decades earlier, the generational divide has had apowerful common thread: enduring friendships have alwaysbeen at the heart of the Westminster experience.

“Westminster has definitely been more than I expectedwith the friendships,” said Ginny. “You get so close. Youreally can’t understand it unless you have experienced itbecause it is living with your best friend. I can’t rememberlife before Westminster.”

Everyone is looking forward to a group reunion on theHill, hopefully this year at Grandparents’ Day. “I can’t waitto see Julia in my old environment,” said Peter. I talked withSherman on the phone about it, and we really want to all gettogether.”

Julia and Ginny share an interest in squash.


40

What were your early years like at Westminster?I had a different classroom every year for the first four years. I

started off in the basement of Baxter Academic Center. I had fourdifferent preps, was department head, was teaching and doing SAT prep,and was coaching the Second Field Hockey and Second Tennis teams.That year, I didn’t want to cut anybody from field hockey, so I had about 35team members. My classroom eventually moved to the top floor in Baxter.

What is your favorite part of teaching math? I have been teaching mostly AP calculus for the last 16 years and

have been an AP reader for the exam. As much as you hear criticismabout the AP curriculum, I do like the AP calculus curriculum because it isa wonderful coordination of everything that students have learned inmathematics. It involves all of the earlier levels of math education.

I also think any level of math is fun. I like being able to explainthings well to students. Concepts need to be presented sequentially, fromthe simple to the more complex. I have always railed against people whosay, “I always had trouble in math.” My response has always been,“Well, you didn’t have me as a teacher.”

Have you changed as a teacher over the years? Teaching has changed over the years. I came out of a Catholic

school tradition where there were 50 kids in a classroom, so everythingwas about absolute discipline. What is wonderful about teaching inprivate schools is the ability to really get to know students and to giveextra help.

Inspired byDedication and aCommon PurposeTwo of Westminster’s most senior faculty members

will be retiring at the end of the academic year.

Joyce Wilson has served on the Westminster faculty

for 20 years, and Dick Adams has served for 43

years. Before leaving in June, they sat down to

share some thoughts about their long tenures at

Westminster — as teachers, coaches and

administrators — and some of the challenges,

opportunities and rewards of serving on the

Westminster faculty.

Joyce Wilson

After serving 16 years at Suffield Academy, where shewas head of the Mathematics Department, Joyce wasappointed to the Westminster faculty in 1993 to head theMathematics Department, teach math and coach. Over theyears, Joyce, who now serves as associate director of collegecounseling, a mathteacher and a tenniscoach, has served asdirector of studiesand coached fieldhockey. Born andraised in Boston, sheearned her bachelor’sdegree at StonehillCollege and herM.Ed. at theUniversity ofHartford. She andher husband, Allan,reside in Suffield andare the parents ofthree daughters.


41

Westminster admits terrific students. It is a privilege to work withyoung people and with other adults who are committed to young people. Ifeel as though everyone is on the same boat heading toward the sameplace. I like being part of a team, and it is always nice to be supported.

What led you to become director of studies?After serving as the Math Department head for four years, becoming

director of studies was really a great thing to do professionally. I wasready to be out of the classroom full time and doing something else.There are a lot of different parts to the job, and I think that is what I likedabout it. I have always enjoyed working with parents. It was nice to beable to find the right solution to a student’s needs. I am a problem solver,anyway.

What then led toyour current positionin CollegeCounseling?

My husband, Allan,and I decided to move toBoston to be closer to ourfamily, but when that did notwork out, I stayed on atWestminster as a collegecounselor and continuedteaching in the MathDepartment. I had alwaysbeen interested in collegecounseling. Theopportunities to meet newpeople and to travel were very attractive to me.

Did you have any Westminster mentors along the way? Graham Cole gave me the opportunity to be the director of studies,

and Bill Philip was extremely supportive and helpful during the sevenyears I spent in that role.

Have you had a favorite role? Working in College Counseling is wonderful. I am able to get to

know students in a very close, personal fashion and in a way I don’t getto know them in the classroom. I also get to know their parents. Thecollege search process can cause anxiety for both the students and theirparents. Everyone has high expectations. For parents, this is one of theirlast big jobs. They know how important college placement can be. I try toexplain what needs to be explained to both the parents and the studentand to support them when they are going through things that are makingthem anxious. I also try to deliver any bad news in a positive way. It is apuzzle. The goal is to try to find the right spot to complement thestudent’s goals.

What have been some of Westminster’s majormilestones during your tenure?

The construction of the Armour Academic Center was the biggest.When I was director of studies, we always had huge scheduling problemsbecause we didn’t have enough classrooms. We had to use the basementof the chapel and the Perry Room in the library. The Armour AcademicCenter has made a tremendous difference. I also have always been a big

supporter of departmental offices. When I got here, I didn’t have a placewhere I could gather the math teachers together so we could discussdepartmental issues. Now, with offices, we can share ideas. It isteamwork again, and that is fabulous.

What have been some of the challenges you haveseen the school face over the years?

Early on there was always the issue of retaining women facultymembers. Some of that was because of the whole triple threat issue ofteaching, coaching and living in the dorms. I think fund raising was achallenge then too. We always did so much with so little and were proudof it, but then needs changed. I was here not too long before we got the$33 million Edge gift. That was really the beginning of construction of anumber of new facilities that have been wonderful additions. I have seena lot of change. We have a great school, and I think our biggestcompliment is when parents send one child to Westminster and then end up sending their other children too.

What usually comes to mind when you seeWestminster alumni?

I love seeing alumni grown up as adults. I consider it a privilege tohave been a part of their lives through their adolescence. I am alwaysimpressed by how polished, well spoken and respectful they are, and byhow well they have done in their given professions. I think that isbecause they learned how to work with people while they were atWestminster. Our students are poised, confident and have good peopleskills because of all the contact they have with others. Westminster isn’tthe place where students can go into a shell or hide in a corner.

Is there anything distinctive about the facultyexperience at Westminster?

I have always been so proud to be a member of the faculty.Everyone is not only extremely talented, but they love working with youngpeople. The relationship between faculty and students has always been aclose, nurturing one, which I think is a high point of the school. I think alot of the sense of community here stems from the strong dedication ofthe people who work here.

Why have you stayed at Westminster over the years? I have stayed because I have liked the people with whom I have

worked, and I continue to like them. It is never boring. I have also beenable to wear different “hats.”


42

What are your plans after Westminster? I have had a job since I was 16 years old and have always loved

working. It is just time to bring it down a notch. My husband and I aremoving to Cape Cod to live in a home we have owned for nine years. Iwould like to do some tutoring and am looking forward to having moretime to do some volunteer work. I am on the library commission inSuffield, and I would like to continue to work in a library in some way. I also hope to be able to see my daughters and their children more. I amsure we will be back. I have grown to love Connecticut.

Dick Adams P’93

A graduate of DePauw University, Dick came toWestminster in 1970 by way of Hawaii, where he receivedhis Master of Arts in Japanese and Chinese history from theUniversity of Hawaii. He has taught English and history atWestminster, served as dean of students for 15 years and hascoached basketball, football, baseball and soccer. A formerholder of The Walter E. Edge Jr. ’35 Master Teacher Chair,he was named dean of faculty in 2003 and to the John GowMaster Chair. Dick and his wife, Barbara, a former Englishteacher at Westminster, lived on Westminster dormitorycorridors for 18 years. They currently live in a faculty homeand are the parents of two daughters, Megin and Jill ’93.

How have your roles at Westminster evolved over theyears?

Early on, I was teaching English and history, which went back andforth. Barb and I lived upstairs in Squibb House, then moved off corridorfor several years and then moved back into Milliken, which was a boys’dormitory then. Initially, I coached baseball, basketball and some football.I have coached basketball throughout, first boys and then the girls, until acouple of years ago. I also coached soccer. When I first started out as adean of students, Dave Hovey was the head dean, and I was hisassistant. After 15 years in the Deans’ Office, I decided to step awaybecause our daughters became Westminster students. A few years later, I was asked to succeed Todd Eckerson as dean of faculty.

Did you have mentors along the way? Not formally but certainly Harris “Squibby” Squibb in the dorm,

Rankine Hinman and Jake Nolde in history, and Richard Miller in theDeans’ Office.

What has been the most rewarding part aboutserving on the Westminster faculty?

At Westminster, faculty are involved with the students and otherfaculty in so many different ways. I think there is a real common purposein the idea that education isn’t just in the classroom. Our charge is to tryto develop the character of kids. As you get older, you see the resultswhen alumni return to campus. Those experiences make you realize youhad an impact, and I think they are shared by so many of the faculty. It isinteresting how many of the faculty go out of their way to see formerstudents in all different venues.

Have you seen the role of a faculty member changemuch during your tenure?

It is a much busier life. The class day is more hectic, the academicrigor has increased, more is expected of coaches, and parents are muchmore involved. These factors have created new pressures andexpectations. Faculty members also play pretty close attention to wherekids go to college and to how they do after they leave Westminster.

Were there any lessons you learned about teachinghere?

The most fundamental one is that you can approach kids from somany different ways when you are living with them. This facilitates whatyou are teaching, both academics and core values. Coaching has helpedme get to know students. For any team I coached, when the grades cameout, I always looked at how the team members were doing academically,and if they were not doing well, then that prompted a conversation. Thebonds between students and teachers at Westminster are very strong.There is certainly an element of “I don’t want to disappoint” from thestudents and that really helps the teacher.


43

What is the greatest reward in teaching? The greatest reward in teaching is seeing kids change. School years

have beginnings and endings, and kids can start off badly and turn itaround. The memorable part is to watch kids mature, not only in theclassroom, but in other activities.

What have been some of the biggest milestones atWestminster while you have been on the faculty?

Certainly, going coed was the biggest. But I also was fortunate to behere when it was all boys and saw the positives of that. I felt the schoolgreatly improved with the introduction of girls, and then when girlsbecame boarders, even more so.

Was admitting girls a difficult discussion for the faculty?It was only difficult in the sense that I remember male faculty

members trying to anticipate it. We were trying to figure out what thegirls might want and need at school. Even the subject of installingbathtubs in the dorms came up. We were kind of in the dark trying toanticipate it. Looking back, it was pretty funny.

How did the girls change the school?I found it amazing that 12 girls could be so brave. The process was

fascinating because, when the 12 girls came in, the boys were almostprotective of them, like they were little sisters. The transition was reallyinteresting to watch since the girls really changed the school, elevating theacademics and elevating the role of female faculty and spouses as well.

Were there any other major milestones?Another one financially was the Edge gift. I wasn’t aware of how

precarious the school’s situation was until after the spring of my first year.Over the years, you realize how Don Werner, Abe Claude and othersmade really tough decisions and supported the school. More recently, thefinancial health of the school and all of the new facilities stand out. TheArmour Academic Center has lifted the whole academic environment.People talk about how transformational architecture can be and, in myexperience, this is a very real example of it.

Were there any world eventsthat pressed hard on the school?

Watergate polarized the faculty, but Idon’t think anybody will forget 9/11. It was a beautiful fall day, and we gathered inchapel. There was a lot of anxiety, withstudents and parents trying to reach eachother. We met a second time that day too.We knew fairly quickly which kids wereprobably more vulnerable, and facultymembers went off with individual kids who were really traumatized.

What have been some of theconstants over the years?

The constants are that facultymembers share the core values and the kidsdo too. When working in the Deans’ Office, Isaw kids who broke major rules and, insome cases, were going to be expelled, and

they knew they had broken a major school rule. They didn’t like theconsequences, but they were not surprised by them. We have facultymembers who embody the core values and spend time talking with kidsabout topics beyond academics.

I would say another constant is support from the school’s alumni.This year, we are having a number of alumni come back to speak with thekids, creating a bond. I think it is very important for our kids to see whatcomes out the other end. I would even go further and say how rewardingit is to see former students as parents, raising their kids with prettycommon values. I enjoy seeing the graduates in their kids. In so manycases, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

On the occasion of school’s 125th anniversary, howwell do you think it is positioned for the future?

I think it is in great shape. My biggest concern is that as the cost ofeducation continues to rise, financial aid becomes even more important.

To what do you attribute your long tenure atWestminster?

The community of faculty and students is the main reason. I don’tthink I came in here with a particular philosophy of teaching, but I likedthe idea that I was doing different things with my workload. Even thoughmy workday was probably longer than that of my friends who worked inother professions, I was always really excited about the classroom, andthen a couple of hours later, I was excited to be on the athletic fields. Ican’t ever imagine having a job where I was doing the same thing foreight or 10 hours. The school has also allowed me to play so manydifferent roles: coach different sports, teach different subjects, vary mycurriculum and assume different administrative capacities. I have neverbeen bored or felt tired. I have looked forward to every day.

What will you miss most? I will miss watching students change and grow. Also, part of

teaching at independent schools is that, for the most part, you have somuch control over what you teach. You can decide to select a new bookfor the next year or study a different writer or put in a new offense. Thatis really exciting and kept me on my toes, always learning.

What might be next on thehorizon for you?

I have no idea. I think it is going to bechallenging because I have been so involvedat Westminster. Barb and I will be living inAvon, so I will probably be on the Hill morethan a lot of people who have retired, atleast initially, while I still know the students.We will also be able to see our daughtersand grandchildren more. We will not be tiedto the schedule, so we can travel more freely,and I can fish more often and spend moretime drawing and painting. I was talking to anurse one day about retirement, and shecommented about how much we defineourselves by our jobs, and when you don’thave that, you need a new definition to workon. That will be the new challenge.


44

Dedicated FacultyAs a part of Westminster’s 125th anniversary celebration, members of

the school’s faculty assembled for photos.

Above, all members of the 2012-2013 faculty.

Left, are faculty members whohave served Westminster for 20 ormore years.

Front row, left to right, Joyce Wilson,Ray Gustafson, Scott Berry P’11, ’16,Bill Philip P’06, ’09, Larry GilmanP’78, ’80, Alan Brooks ’55, P’89, ’91,’96, Dick Adams P’93 and PeterBriggs’71, P’01, ’05, ’07.

Back row, Scott Reeves P’03, ’05,Dan Aber P’16, Michael Cervas P’96,’01, ’10, Greg Marco P’08, ’11, DavidWerner ’80, P’10, ’11, ’16, NickMcDonald P’96, ’04, Peter Newman’80, P’16, Nancy Urner-Berry ’81,P’11, ’16, Scott Stevens P’07, ’09, ’12,Jon Deveaux P’14, ’16, Tom EarlP’93, ’98, ’03, ’07 and Todd EckersonP’09, ’11, ’16.


45

Join in the celebration! Make your Annual Fund gift today in support of the leaders of tomorrowwho are currently experiencing their Grit & Grace years at Westminster.

www.Westminster-School.org/Gift

Leading with Grit &GraceHighlighted in this year’s Annual Fund mailings are 18 Westminster alumni who span the decades. They led with

Grit & Grace while on the Hill and have continued as leaders in their careers and communities.

Biodefense | Race Relations | Investment Management | Real Estate Development | EngineeringSocial Services | Mortgage Banking | International Affairs | Nursing | Business ManagementMilitary Service | Education | Art | International Finance | Cancer Research | Civil Service

Criminal Justice | Volunteer Service


46

SU

PP

OR

TIN

G W

ES

TM

INS

TE

R Alumni Winter GamesApproximately 65 alumni returned to Westminster

Jan. 6 to compete in hockey, basketball and squash atthe 2013 Alumni Winter Games.

SQUASH

GIRLS’ HOCKEY

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL


47

BOYS’ HOCKEY

BOYS’ BASKETBALL


48

SU

PP

OR

TIN

G W

ES

TM

INS

TE

R Holiday ReceptionsMembers of the Westminster community gathered at holiday receptions in

Boston, New York City and Simsbury.

BostonThe Boston holiday

reception was held at theHarvard Club on Nov. 15.

Brian Ford, Lindsey Thomson ’08, Kelly Cheng ’08, Andrew Polio ’08,Kate Sullivan ’08 and Chris Ribaudo ’06

Mike Nemetz and Sarah Armour-Nemetz P’14, Tad andBetsy Mayer P’13, ’15, and Liz Hahn P’14

Kristin Shirahama ’94, Michael Wiernasz ’94, Scott BerryP’11, ’16, Miles Bailey ’94, Martha Payne ’94 and JoséRuiz ’94

Michelle Wiernasz Puopolo ’00, Brooke Nentwig Orr ’02and Cole Pinney ’01

Tom Richardson ’97, Leigh Foster ’03, Andrew Stone ’04and Helen Williams


49

New York CityAlumni, parents and friends of Westminster who attended the New York City holiday

reception Dec. 5 at the Guggenheim Museum were able to view the “Picasso Black andWhite” exhibition.

Kate Philip ’06, Alex Gerson ’07, Emily Verone ’06 andMolly Shea ’06

Alexander LePage, Carolyn Cordner LePage ’97, John Parker’81 and Dick Adams P’93

Rob Horsford ’89, Tim MacGuire ’90 and Julia MacGuire

Robin Buckley P’15, Kit Rohn P’15, Charlie Buckley P’15,Beth Baker P’09, ’12, ’15 and Robert Rohn P’15

Pete Melief ’05, Jason Adams ’06, Ned Reeves ’05 andChristina Bergey

Alexis van der Mije ’98, Robby Mountain ’97, BrookeMountain and Scott Stevens P’07, ’09, ’12


50

SU

PP

OR

TIN

G W

ES

TM

INS

TE

R SimsburyThe Hartford-area holiday reception was held Dec. 13 at

Westminster in the Armstrong Atrium of the Armour Academic Center.

Jim Poor GP’16, Randy and Kelly Rome P’16, andSandy Wickman Mason P’11, ’12, ’16

Pat Estill P’95 and Jenny Philip P’06, ’09

Bob and Jill Lautensack P’03, ’04, and Linda andDave Kaye P’95, GP’16

David Bell P’14, Kimberly Pope P’12, ’15, ’16 andMartin Geitz P’07, ’11

Doug and Audra Harris P’16, and Laurie andDmitry Yekelchik P’16

Kelly Cross P’08, ’11, Sheri Eklund P’11, ’13, ’16,Denise Woodruff P’11, Leigh Hovey P’09, ’11, ’14 andCatherine Graffy P’06


51

1888: Portland, OregonThanks to the help of Tom O’Connor ’84, P’15 andDavid Wilkins ’88, 10 Portland-area Martlets gatheredat McMenamins Edgefield for dinner on Oct. 25.

Left to right are Beth Hoben ’86, John Lape ’69, Newell Grant ’99,Lindsay Wierdsma ’86, David Wilkins ’88, Andy McElderry ’84,Tom O’Connor ’84, P’15, Melissa Boyden McElderry ’84, PatrickLee ’68 and Percy Flora.

1888: BostonA group of expert and beginning paddle tennis players enjoyeda windy evening at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., onJan. 31 thanks to the hospitality of Tim Egan ’00.

Left to right are Bill Philip P’06, ’09, Charles Santry ’80, P’12, Richard Batchelder P’16, HelenaGrant, Mike Frank P’11, ’15, Martha Payne ’94, Michael Wiernasz ’94, Courtney Egan, Tim Egan’00, James Bishop ’00, Dave Werner ’80, P’10, ’11, ’16, Dan Burke ’87, Sam Jackson ’08, BenRoberts ’00, Mike Jackson ’75, P’04, ’08, Vince Jones ’73 and Newell Grant ’99.

Corrections to the2011-2012 Annual Report

While Westminster makesevery effort to ensureaccuracy in its AnnualReport, errors do occur. We apologize to those whowere not listed correctlyand thank them for theirgenerous support ofWestminster during 2011-2012:

Mr. David ’78 and Mrs. Leigh Hovey P’09,’11, ’14

Ms. Olivia Frank ’11

Mr. Scott Berry and Ms. Nancy Urner-Berry’81, P’11, ’16

Mr. and Mrs. David OgilvyP’14, ’16 are members ofthe Cushing Club.

Mr. Magregor G. Hyde ’83is a member of the KeyesClub.

Mr. G. Steven Webster ’71is a member of theWerner Club

The agents for the Class of1981 were listed incorrectly.Thank you to Frank“Pancho” Winter, NatalieKirschner Tallis and KevinKelly for their dedicationand hard work.Congratulations on placingin the top 10 classes foralumni participation andoverall results!


52

SU

PP

OR

TIN

G W

ES

TM

INS

TE

R Young Alumni Gatherings

University of RichmondYoung alumni attending the University of Richmond metfor dinner at Mosaic on Nov. 14. Left to right are EmilyTeschner ’12, Abby Huth ’12, Hannah Leathers ’11 andCharlotte Stewart ’11.

Martlets in MidtownMore than 20 alumni from the classes of 2004 to 2008met at Brinkley’s Station in New York City on Jan. 8 toenjoy an evening of catching up and networking.

Young Alumni Participate inFebruary Face-off Competition

February Face-off was a new annual fundparticipation competition among Westminster, TheGunnery, Berkshire School, Avon Old Farms School,The Hotchkiss School, Salisbury School and The TaftSchool.

Members of the classes of 2000 to 2012 from allof the schools were asked to join the competition bymaking an annual fund gift during the month ofFebruary. The focus was on alumni participation. Everygift from members of the participating classes increasedthe total number of February Face-off gifts for eachschool.

Westminster took third place this year, falling toSalisbury and Taft. “We want to thank all of our youngalumni for their continued support,” said Newell Grant’99, director of young alumni programs. “We willparticipate in this competition again next year.”

Some members of the classes of 2000 to 2012 met inFebruary at a reception in Boston to celebrate theFebruary Face-off competition.

5

5


53

Hold On to a Bit ofWestminster’s History

While Westminster eagerly anticipates theSeptember opening of its new student andfaculty residences, a few sentimental souls haveexpressed an interest in having a tangiblememento of their years living in Squibb Houseor Andrews House.

If you would like abrick from either of thesebuildings, please contactBecky McGuire in theAlumni and DevelopmentOffice to place your orderbefore May 15, 2013. Shecan be reached by phone at(860) 408-3052 or by e-mail at [email protected] shipping and handling cost is $20 per brick.


54

SU

PP

OR

TIN

G W

ES

TM

INS

TE

R Martlets Around the Globe

4Australia

2Austria

4Bahamas

1Belgium

22Bermuda

64Canada

10China

1Colombia

2Costa Rica

2Croatia

1Czech Republic

1Denmark

3Ecuador

1Finland

5France

20Germany

Alaska 3Alabama 6Arkansas 2Arizona 34California 288Colorado 110Connecticut 1,091District of Columbia 66Delaware 27Florida 226Georgia 59Hawaii 11Iowa 2Idaho 11Illinois 76Indiana 5Kansas 2Kentucky 15Louisiana 11Massachusetts 546Maryland 85Maine 92Michigan 27Minnesota 35Missouri 11Mississippi 3Montana 16

North Carolina 93North Dakota 1Nebraska 1New Hampshire 89New Jersey 154New Mexico 12Nevada 4New York 702Ohio 63Oklahoma 10Oregon 37Pennsylvania 130Puerto Rico 6Rhode Island 65South Carolina 43South Dakota 2Tennessee 31Texas 72Utah 14Virginia 108Vermont 129Washington 51Wisconsin 22West Virginia 4Wyoming 12Unknown address but living in the U.S. 104

4,819United States, District of Columbiaand Puerto Rico


55

2Ghana

2Hungary

2Indonesia

1Ireland

1Italy

2Jamaica

2Japan

33South Korea

1Liberia

1Lithuania

5Mexico

1Moldova

1Netherlands

1New Zealand

1Nicaragua

1Norway

1Panama

1Portugal

1Romania

1Saudi Arabia

2Scotland

1South Africa

4Spain

12Sweden

4Switzerland

6Taiwan

13Thailand

1Tunisia

1Turkey

1United Arab Emirates

48United Kingdom

2Vietnam

1Virgin Islands

The reach of the Westminster community extends around the nation and the world. Today, the school’s 5,119 alumni can be found in all 50 states and 49 countries.


68

Grit and GraceI actually do not recall whether I was

aware of the motto “Grit & Grace” when Iattended Westminster in the 1980s.However, as soon as I heard the phrase, itinstantly resonated with me. To me, grit andgrace describes a manner in which you maychoose to move through life. It means thatyou give your best efforts to whatever youset out to do, regardless of how significantor mundane the task. It means that youshould always be proud of youraccomplishments, but be mindful to keepthem in perspective and to have a healthylevel of humility. And, just as importantly,grit and grace describes a way in which yourespond to challenges and setbacks. Youdeal with the situation at hand, determinehow you can improve or better cope withthe issue, and you get back in the game. AtWestminster, the daily experiences andinteractions inevitably encouraged andtaught all students to move through theirtenure at the school with grit and grace. Itwas up to you as a student and, later as anadult, to determine whether and how toincorporate into your way of life the idealsunderlying the motto.

Lessons LearnedI suspect that for many alumni, such as

myself, the lessons that we learned and thevalues that we were taught at Westminsterbecome much clearer and apparent with thepassage of time.

Looking back, I fully believe that thestudents who may have gained the mostfrom having attended Westminster are thosewho learned or understood that attendingWestminster was not an entitlement nor wasit merely a phase to be endured. As aWestminster student, there were significantexpectations regarding academics andpersonal growth. The schoolwork was

intense and the workload was daunting. Youwere expected to do more than just attendclasses six days a week — that was notenough at Westminster. You were expectedto be a vital part of the school community.You were expected to constantly pushyourself and to try new things even thoughthere was the possibility that you may fail ornot do as well as you would like. You wereexpected to do this all while dealing withyour own unique, personal issues orchallenges.

At Westminster, I learned theimportance of community and truly “buyingin” to the concept. I learned that the journeywas more than about me and my successesor failures. It was expected that all students,not just a select few, would be engaged andactive members of and leaders in thecommunity in all aspects — such as doingwork squad, being involved in sports orperforming arts, and mentoring andwatching out for younger students. I learnedfirsthand how a community functions andthrives and that it is critical that each andevery person do his or her part for thebenefit of the (school) community and thegreater good.

At Westminster, I learned to embracechallenges and opportunities instead ofavoiding them. Although I was shy, skepticaland reluctant at the start of my Westminsterjourney, I eventually refused to let theopportunities pass me by or to be limited inany manner. Along the way, I confronted thereality of being the only Black or diverse girlin my Form. Back then, my coping mantrato myself (my poor attempt at humor,shrouded in a bit of truth) was that mystock could only improve with time from thestarting point of being a Black, Third Form,day student girl.

Once I made the conscious decision notto remain on the fringes, and to instead

Coming FullCircle – With

Grit andGrace By Trustee

Moy Ogilvie Johnson ’86

Closing Thoughts


immerse myself in the school community, my outlook andexperiences changed dramatically. Initially, the academicswere even more daunting than I had expected. I recallstruggling with astronomy as a Third Former. I recall notbeing able to escape participation in Mr. Gilman’s Englishclass, despite my best efforts to do so. I recall regularlyforcing myself to wake up at odd hours in the night just toget my homework done on time. I recall dreading Saturdayclasses. In the end, I learned to love learning and to not focusmerely on the pursuit of getting good grades.

With time, I started to believe the many faculty memberswho had the foresight to see potential in me that I could notyet see. I gradually became more confident in my work andin myself. I made friends with and learned from manyindividuals, many of whom on the surface had nothing incommon with me. There were many other experiences andopportunities that were afforded to me by attendingWestminster. I tried and loved new sports such as fieldhockey and volleyball. I embraced my speed, and track andfield. I traveled to Spain on a school trip, my first trip abroadother than to Jamaica, where my family is from originally. Iwas a member of the Student Activities Committee (SAC),served as a Black and Gold Tour Guide and volunteered atHolly Hill Convalescent Home, among other things.

For many, life at Westminster was not as easy as it mayhave seemed. While I experienced highs and lows, I amcertain that Westminster was a pivotal turning point that setinto play a trajectory of experiences and opportunities thatwould shape my life and the person who I am today.

Coming Full CircleI and all of the students who have attended Westminster

were blessed by having parents or guardians who understoodthe importance of academics and having a quality education.Westminster is more than just high school. It is a uniqueeducational experience. And those who have been in anyway involved with Westminster understand this subtle butimportant distinction.

As a result of the strong foundation I received atWestminster, I had more opportunities than I could haveenvisioned as a teenager. I attended Bowdoin College andlaw school. And I have had endless opportunities to beinvolved with varied professional and community endeavors.

I now find myself serving as a member of theWestminster Board of Trustees. Being a trustee has been aneye-opening, humbling experience. As a student, I generallyrecalled seeing the trustees on campus, but I had nounderstanding of their roles. It certainly never occurred tome that I would one day have the opportunity, let alonedesire, to serve as one. I have learned about the school in an all-encompassing manner — I have been required to lookat the school through different lenses, not just from theperspective of a former student. I have a betterunderstanding of the complexity of the factors that impactthe decisions the school makes. Factors such as academic

curriculum, core values, school size, tuition rates,endowment goals, development, diversity, sports, the arts,the boarding-to-day students ratio, the school plant andfacilities, faculty compensation and benefits, financial aid,college placement, marketing, community involvement,globalization and the list goes on. Having the opportunity to contribute, in even a minor way, to the shaping ofWestminster’s future has been an unexpected and cherishedhonor.

Over the past four years, I have also had theopportunity to experience Westminster through the eyes of a current student. By way of background, 10 years ago Isigned up to be a Big Sister through a local chapter of BigBrothers/Big Sisters, a mentoring organization. I was“matched” with an eight-year-old girl from the Hartfordarea. While it is cliché, it is true that I have gained muchmore out of the program than I could have ever expected.My relationship with my Little Sister and her family grewover time. She developed into an intelligent, motivated andwitty young girl. She eventually graduated from a publicmiddle school and completed a rigorous 14-month HartfordYouth Scholars Foundation program, which helped prepareher and other Hartford students to apply to independentschools.

On May 25, 2013, my Little Sister is scheduled tograduate from Westminster as a member of the Class of2013. To have an opportunity to observe her growth overthe past four years has been the experience of a lifetime forme. I vividly remember her constant tears during her firstfew months as a Third Form boarder. I prayed that shewould stay the course and embrace Westminster’s uniqueofferings. She has done just that. My Little Sister hasflourished at Westminster. She has become more confident,both academically and personally. She has made true friendsfrom around the country and the world. She views herteachers, coaches and others as partners in her journey. Shehas tried new sports. She has elevated her love for and skillsat dance. She has traveled abroad for the first time on afaculty-run program. And, she has unknowingly proceededthrough her journey at Westminster with that trademarkmeasure of grit and grace.

It is with awe and surprise that I witness her comfortand ease in navigating her way around a school that now is equally hers as it is mine. It has been an unusual,unanticipated legacy of sorts. My Little Sister is ready tospread her wings, leave Westminster and head off to college.

I know a few things that my Little Sister may not yetunderstand, however. I know that her Westminsterexperience has been a turning point in her life, although shemay not yet recognize it as such. And, I know that in timeshe too will learn and accept that Westminster will alwaysremain a part of who she is and a part of her soul.

Westminster has indeed changed in so many ways overthe decades, but in many of the ways that matter most,Westminster has not changed at all.

www.Westminster-School.org

995 Hopmeadow StreetSimsbury CT 06070

Non-Profit Org.U.S. PostagePAIDHartford, CTPermit No. 751

Documents

Westminster School Bulletin Spring 2013