Spring 2018 Achievement Alumni Magazine

School Breaks Ground On Multi-Purpose Athletic Field With Lights Achievement • Spring 2018 1 Achievement Spring 2018

BOARD OF TRUSTEES An Education For An Inspired Life

Published for Alumni & Mr. Walter G. Cox Jr. 1972, Chairman P ‘06 Friends of Asheville School Ms. Ann Craver, Co-Vice Chair P ‘11 by the Advancement Department Asheville School Mr. Robert T. Gamble 1971, Co-Vice Chair 360 Asheville School Road Asheville, 28806 Mr. Marshall T. Bassett 1972, Treasurer 828.254.6345 Dr. Audrey Alleyne P ’18, ’19 www.ashevilleschool.org (Ex officio Parents’ Association) Editor Mr. Haywood Cochrane Jr. P ’17 Bob Williams Mr. Thomas E. Cone 1972 Assistant Head of School for Advancement Dan Seiden Mr. Matthew S. Crawford 1984 Writers Mr. D. Tadley DeBerry 1981 Alex Hill Tom Marberger 1969 Mr. James A. Fisher 1964 Travis Price Bob Williams Dr. José A. González 1985 P ’20

Proof Readers Ms. Mary Robinson Hervig 2002 Tish Anderson Bob Williams Ms. Jean Graham Keller 1995 Travis Price Mr. Richard J. Kelly 1968 P ’20 Printing Mr. Nishant N. Mehta 1998 Lane Press Mr. Archibald R. Montgomery IV Photographers Blake Madden (Ex officio Head of School) Sheila Coppersmith Eric Frazier Dr. Gregory K. Morris 1972 Bob Williams Mr. J. Allen Nivens Jr. 1993 A special thanks to the 1923 Memorial Archives for providing many of the archival photographs (Ex officio Alumni Association) in this edition. Ms. Lara Nolletti P ’19 Mr. Laurance D. Pless 1971 P ’09, P ’13 Asheville School Mission: To prepare our students for college and for life Mr. Oliver G. Prince Jr. 1971 P ’00 and to provide an atmosphere in which all members of a diverse, Mr. Arthur H. Rogers III 1988 engaged, and purposefully small school community appreciate and Mr. Walter A. Ruch III P ’08 strive for excellence – an atmosphere Mr. David M. Stover 1975 P ’11 that nurtures character and fosters the development of mind, body, Mr. John W. Willingham 1965 and spirit. P - Parents of current and former students Asheville School does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, sex, or ethnic background in its admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, educational policies, and athletic and other school administered programs. Spring 2018

Table of Contents Features 06 School Breaks Ground on Athletic Complex In Memoriam 09 Renderings for the Arts Center 51 Remembering John L. “Jack” Tyrer 10 Lynn Gilliland Welcomes Her Work With Parents 54 Nicholas Jordan 1959 11 Crosses and Tears by Tom Marberger 1969 54 Robert Walter 1966 15 Architectural Digest Features Asheville School 55 Allan C. Mayer 1940 16 Immersive Experiences in the Amazon Rainforest 56 In Memoriam 19 Head of School Search Update 20 Asheville School History: Vive la Difference Profiles 47 Commemorating 50 Years of Racial Integration 12 Morgann Lyles First Year Reflection 14 Alumni Profile: Samuel Goldstein 2016 Departments 41 Alumni Profile: Grace Raynor 2011 05 From the Head of School 43 Alumni Profile: Schill 2016 and Morrison 2016 Campus News Class Notes 32 Raising Expectations on Carter Court 34 1950-1975 45 Inspiration from Leading Courses at Klingenstein 36 1979-2005 50 Lou Bissette Receives Award of Merit 38 2006-2016 40 Blues Events from 2017-2018

Achievement • Spring 2018 3 Learn To Code Apps In One Week App Development Summer Camp 2018

Asheville School is offering a unique app camp experience for teens across the U.S. and abroad who are interested in learning how to make apps for the iPhone, iPad, and even Apple TV.

Attendees will spend the week learning Apple’s Swift programming language and discovering what it takes to produce native iOS apps and games for the App Store.

Ages 13-18 ashevilleschool.org/appdevcamp Asheville • North Carolina

Skill Level: Beginner - Intermediate [email protected]

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Week 1: July 8 - 13 | Week 2: July 15 - 20 (Overnight & Day options available) Spring 2018 From the Head of School

Dear Members of the Asheville School Family:

The 2017-2018 academic year has been a good one. All the usual health indices for a sound school are met: balanced budget, full enrollment, stable and engaged faculty and staff, strong college admissions, and a vibrant student body. Less obvious are the accomplishments and events that are not quantifiable.

Since you are receiving this edition of Achievement, you have probably been touched in one way or another by the folks in Bement House. Lynn Gilliland (parent of Matthew ’13) has improved our parent communication dramatically, and Burt Gordon ’86 has done the same for our alumni. Innes Boland has done a marvelous job of keeping us focused and on track. These people are, with their Be- ment teammates, making both the Cody Annual Fund and the capital efforts successful. They are discovering how proud our constitu- ents are of Asheville School, and it certainly does not hurt that Architectural Digest listed Asheville School as the most beautiful private high school in North Carolina! Our parents and alumni have never been more engaged with the school.

Two contrasting speakers visited our campus and spoke to our community. Civil Rights icon, Congressman John Lewis, and Congress- man Mark Meadows, leader of the Freedom Caucus, offered divergent thoughts on current civic issues. It is important in this day and age of acutely felt political perspectives that our students are exposed to different ideas and approaches to our national challenges. Our Learn To Code Apps In One Week young people are going through an interesting period of activism, reminiscent in some ways of the activism in the late 1960s and 1970s. Certainly issues of the environment, sexual harassment, and second amendment rights have captured the imagination of our youth. We are trying to help them use evidence-based thinking to approach complicated matters, and our students are encouragingly open to App Development Summer Camp 2018 thinking hard and acting thoughtfully.

A summer project will usher in a new era of Friday night lights at Asheville School. A multi-purpose artificial turf field, with a new track and a handsome grandstand and press box will be undertaken, starting in May. We intend for the surface to be playable in time for our first games in the fall. We believe that this new facility will encourage students to enjoy food, music, and competition under the lights on Friday night. Our field had become infamous for being “lesser” than those of our competitors, and this is not only a deficien- cy cured but is also an opportunity gained to cultivate school spirit and a sense of community. More news is on the way with regard to other pending projects; think fine arts - both visual and performing - and technology!

Morale has been high among teachers and students this year as evidenced by yet another year of student retention above 90%. Both the Southern Association of Independent Schools Visiting Accreditation Team and the leaders of Freedom from Clinical Dependency have commented on the positive environment, seriousness of academic purpose, and sense of community that define this beautiful little school.

Here comes the 2018-2019 academic year! We will be full yet again and are poised to welcome another terrific group of new students.

Sincerely,

Archibald R. Montgomery IV Week 1: July 8 - 13 | Week 2: July 15 - 20 (Overnight & Day options available) Head of School Achievement • Spring 2018 5 School Breaks Ground on New $3 Million Multi-Purpose Athletic Complex With Lights

By Bob Williams Boland, who graduated from Asheville Friday night lights that just draws people Editor School in 1999 as a standout three-sport in and makes it more of a pleasant experi- athlete, knows exactly how rewarding this ence. In lacrosse, having an artificial turf When Asheville School begins its 119th new facility will be for student athletes, field will make it more fast paced, which school year, students, teachers, parents and coaches, parents and alumni. will be a huge improvement. alumni will gather together to celebrate one giant leap forward for the school’s ath- “As an alumnus, I have a mixed set of “The news of this new facility really re- letic program — a new $3 million multi- emotions,” he says. “I have great memories flects the growth of our athletic program,” purpose athletic complex with lights. of playing on our current field when I was Ferenbach adds. “Our strength and con- a student, but these improvements are so ditioning program has improved, and this As Asheville School Athletic Director Carl long overdue. This upgrade feels exactly new facility adds a big piece to our athletic Boland sees it, gathering for a variety of right. The current facility is so outdated profile.” athletic contests under lights will certainly that it is only fitting and deserving that we usher in a new era for Blues athletics. would take this step and build a quality S’khaja Charles, a sophomore from Char- facility like this. The idea of being able to lotte, North Carolina, who competes in “This facility is going to rival the athletic play a game in the evening and have the track and field, says she is looking forward facilities of our peer schools,” Boland says. whole school there is very exciting.” to a new track and throwing area as well as “To see a state-of-the-art, brand-new facil- the addition of lights. ity that can be played and practiced on in Student athletes at Asheville School are all weather and under all conditions will thrilled to hear about the new athletic “It will be so incredible, and it will draw now be a major highlight for our athletic facility, says Oliver Ferenbach, a junior more people to our games,” she says. program.” from Johnson City, Tennessee, who plays The project was made possible by the football and lacrosse. “There’s something generosity of alumni, parents and friends about a Friday night football game and who donated the funds to support the 6 Achievement • Spring 2018 new facility, says Daniel Seiden, Asheville Renderings by Clark Nexsen architects

School’s Assistant Head of School for In addition to the lights and new multi- want to come to us through the admission Advancement. purpose turf field, the facility upgrade process.” includes a new track matching the school’s “Our student athletes want to play and navy blue and white colors, stadium seat- Seiden said this project would not have be supported and united by their com- ing for 500 fans, a new press box, and field- been possible without the support from munity. The feeling of having Asheville level restrooms. “two 7-figure donors, a current parent and School together under the lights – that’s an alumnus, and several 6-figure donors.” the environment our athletes want to play “The playing surface will be drastically im- in. Coaches are excited that their kids are proved,” Seiden says. “It’s a safe, modern, “There is a real sense of family and going to step into the spotlight; it’s what sleek facility, and our student athletes will community here – those are real qualities they deserve.” see their performance improved. It will for the Blues,” he says. “We break bread attract the caliber of athletes whom we Achievement • Spring 2018 7 “This new multi-purpose field is only one part of the school’s $25 million capital campaign.”

— Daniel Seiden - Assistant Head of School for Advancement

together and go to chapel together; now we “It offers ease of maintenance and versatil- “Ultimately, the timing of this project was will be able to celebrate athletics together. ity. It always looks good, and almost all donor driven, but this is one of two bricks- This is an opportunity not only to enhance schools are now opting for some type of and-mortar capital projects that are part of athletics, but also to foster our community artificial turf.” the campaign,” he says. “It’s really exciting spirit.” to have exceeded the goal for this athletic While he expects to see more sports than project in such a short time. It gives us Besides the addition of lights to be used just football and lacrosse use the facility, phenomenal momentum as we turn our by a variety of fall and spring sports, the Boland also knows that local camps and attention to project number two – a new new field will help to enhance practices for sports clubs will be interested in using the visual and performing arts center.” many of the school’s student athletes. field during the off-seasons. Beyond athletics and the arts, the greatest “Providing our athletes with more op- “It presents a great opportunity to bring priority for the campaign is to take care portunities to train and practice is a real in auxiliary revenue,” Boland says. “There’s of our people—building an endowment benefit of having a field like this,” Boland demand for these types of fields locally. A that will sustain the talented faculty and says. “It will be the primary venue for foot- lot of camps are looking for places to host students at Asheville School, Seiden says. ball, lacrosse, and track and field. But really them.” all of our field sports can use this facility “Thanks to this new facility, we will be for practice and for games.” Construction is scheduled to begin this able to go toe to toe with any of our peer May, once lacrosse season has ended. schools in terms of facilities, and now we Boland says he has enjoyed being part of “We will have shovels in the dirt imme- need to bolster the people side of the the design process for the new facility. diately following the last contest of the equation,” he says. “It’s exciting to be part of the planning,” he spring season after May 15,” Seiden says. says. “I’ve spent a lot of time researching “Construction will be underway through To learn more about Asheville School’s $25 all the great options out there. You learn a the summer with the expectation that the million capital campaign, contact Associ- lot hearing what other schools wish they field will be fully functional and celebrated ate Head of School Jay Bonner at had done. The type of technology as it at the first home football game.” [email protected]. relates to field turf has come a long way. This new multi-purpose field is only one part of the school’s $25 million capital campaign, Seiden says. 8 Achievement • Spring 2018 Future Project - Center for the Visual & Performing Arts

As our studentPEOPLE body >increases PLACE > in PROGRAM number and talents, we needCenter to answer for thethe callVisual to expand & Performing the Arts breadth of the WhetherAsheville students School arrive arts as accomplished experience. dancers, artists, or pick up a paintbrush or instrument for the first time – Asheville Asheville School’s education in the arts developsSchool’s our students’ education creativein the arts thinking develops ourand students’ creative problem-solving skills, which they will utilize inthinking their academicand problem-solving pursuits skills throughout which they will utilize in their As our student body their lives. academic pursuits throughout their lives. increases in number The new Center for the Visual & Performing Arts will more and talents, we need The new Center for the Visual & Performing Artsaccurately will more represent accurately the exceptional represent work the and skill level of our arts faculty and students, offering a broader scope of to answer the call to exceptional work and skill level of our arts facultyvisual and arts, students, drama, dance, offering and music a broader programs. scope of visual arts, drama, dance and music programs. expand the breadth of the Asheville School arts experience. theatre A new, acoustically superior 100-120 seat theatre will be designed as an “Art +” space – one that adds value to all curriculums. Flexible and intimate, the theatre will host student performances, lectures, master classes, and Asheville School alumni events. Asheville community organizations may also rent out the space for their own signature events, presenting new opportunities for campus exposure and auxiliary revenue. Renderings by Clearscapes architects

To learn more about Asheville School’s $25 million capitalgallery campaign, contact Associate Head of School Jay Bonner at [email protected] or call 828.254.6345The gallery ext. 4021. will serve Achievementas a dynamic • Spring and 2018 9 constantly evolving backdrop to the lobby and public gathering spaces within the new center, emphasizing the arts in Asheville School’s curriculum. The space will feature visual expressions of students, faculty and regional artists. These creative works - and the stories they tell – are essential to our students’ appreciation of art, community, and culture. art studio In this state-of-the-art creative space, students will have the freedom to create and store still-life projects, portrait photography, pottery and figure modeling. The studio will feature industrial floor to ceiling windows, allowing for flexible class instruction and a natural, open-air space for students. This design will complement our efforts to bring community artists into the studio to engage Asheville School students in a real-world application of the arts. Asheville School Welcomes Lynn Gilliland P’13 as Director of Parent Engagement

Lynn Gilliland, Asheville School’s Director of Parent Engagement, is pictured with her son, Matthew, Class of 2013 and Associate Director of Admission.

By Alex Hill With nearly a year under her belt, Lynn She hopes to continue her involvement Staff Writer Gilliland says that she loves her new role. across the campus and would also like to take part in spiritual programming also. In July, the Asheville School community “I must have the best job at Asheville “Asheville School cultivates mind, body welcomed Lynn Gilliland to the Office of School,” she says, “because not only do and spirit,” she says. “Coming from Mon- Advancement as she took on a new posi- I get to interact with our students and treat Conference Center, a faith-based in- tion for the school—Director of Parent faculty, I also get to know our parents and stitution that focuses on faith development Engagement. Gilliland serves as a point of grandparents, who are an important part in teens, I am very interested in becoming contact for all Asheville School families of this community! Having connected to a presence in our spiritual programming. I and aims to involve them fully with the the Asheville School community as a par- think it is so critical to encourage teenagers on-campus community. ent, I feel I have insight into parents’ needs to ask those big questions!” and expectations—it is my goal to meet Gilliland comes to Asheville School from and exceed those expectations as I find my Ultimately, Gilliland wants to support Montreat Conference Center, where she footing in this position.” students and their families as they navi- served as Vice-President for Development gate through Asheville School. “I don’t see for over five years, yet she is no stranger One of her favorite aspects of the position this as a job,” she says. “It’s really more of to Asheville School. Her son, Matthew is becoming immersed in the community. a calling. I firmly believe there is no finer Gilliland 2013, also returned to Asheville Gilliland enjoys helping with service, head- secondary school education community School this summer to work in the Office ing a table during seated meals, getting to anywhere. I am always looking for ways to of Admission. know current students, and working with share what is happening on campus and to her son. “It has been so much fun working involve our families who aren’t on campus with my son as a colleague,” she said. “Stu- all day, every day. I love it! I really do.” 10 Achievement • Spring 2018 dents ask me what it is like all the time. I think it’s great!” Crosses and Tears

by Tom Marberger 1969 Rising from the Waves stands. Someone from the cemetery staff made a few remarks and then asked us to turn to face the grave The first time I walked up to the rim of the Grand Canyon, my sites while the carillon played our national anthem. Those who jaw dropped. The many pictures I had seen of it did not prepare don’t like the anthem should hear it played that simply and in that me for the reality. When I first saw Michelangelo’s David, I began setting. We then turned back to the speaker and listened to “Taps.” to cry. Pictures (or the many imitations one sees in Florence) At this point, there weren’t many dry eyes in the audience. hadn’t prepared me for the magnificence that stood before me. In the Louvre, I was mesmerized by da Vinci’s tiny Mona Lisa. Even As part of the ceremony, those who wanted to could receive a rose though there were huge paintings by David and Delacroix on the and place it at a grave site. My rose was yellow, and I placed it on opposite wall, I couldn’t take my eyes from da Vinci’s masterpiece. the grave of an unknown soldier. He may be unknown, but he It is easy to understand my reaction at those three moments. I was must not be forgotten. looking at unique creations by nature and man. Though not part of the ceremony, something I saw had to be part Why then was I moved to tears by the 9,387 grave markers that of the everyday ritual of the cemetery. I saw a man cleaning the stand so quietly at the American cemetery at Colleville, France, markers. He had a bucket of soapy water and a tiny paint roller. above the beaches of Normandy? The cemetery appeared exactly He dipped the roller in the water and carefully washed the mark- as I expected from pictures – orderly rows of white markers ers. He did not rush through the procedure. He was methodical overlooking The Channel. Other than the difference that 149 bear and thorough, and loving and respectful. I watched him clean Stars of David and not crosses, those grave markers are absolutely four or five, and I just knew he took great pride in caring for the the same. There is nothing unique about them. They all look markers of those brave souls. alike. There is no Mona Lisa to attract undue attention. They all look alike -- until you walk up to them and read the inscriptions. There is one Grand Canyon; one David by Michelangelo; one And then it is name after name after name after name. I noticed Mona Lisa. There are 9,238 identical crosses, and 149 identical a couple of markers had the same family name, but otherwise, Stars of David at the American cemetery at Colleville. I shed the only ones that have identical inscriptions are those of the more tears over those simple markers than I have shed anywhere “unknown,” who are “known but to God:” identical markers for else I have visited. If you ask me how many tears, I will say 9,387. unique individuals who lie beneath the grass. That number seems appropriate, though entirely inadequate, con- sidering how much we all owe those brave men and women who I arrived at the cemetery in time to participate in a brief ceremo- lie in quiet rest above the beaches of Normandy, where so many ny. We gathered at the semi-circular colonnade on the east side of gave the last full measure of devotion. the memorial where a bronze statue The Spirit of American Youth Achievement • Spring 2018 11 Morgann Lyles Reflects on Her First Year Teaching at Asheville School

vs. closed weekend, classroom dress Two years ago, when I taught at vs. spirit dress, underformers vs. a public school in Los Angeles hen I first entered upperformers, Blue Week vs. White County, I had 178 students enrolled WMitchell Hall as a 13-year-old Week, etc. At times, I felt more out in five different French courses that camper attending Summer Aca- of place than I have in the 13 for- met during all six periods. I quite demic Adventures, I could not eign countries to which I have trav- literally had a love-hate relation- decide whether I should feel ner- eled! I am undoubtedly indebted to ship with my job: I loved interact- vous or excited about spending an Varghese Alexander, organizer of ing with students in academic and extended period of time away from the New Faculty Academy; Megan social contexts, but I hated never home for the first time. I remember Grant, my faculty mentor and table being able to get off the hamster being mesmerized by the academic partner; and Molly Arkon, my wheel. Working at Asheville School passion of my instructors, the op- department chair, for graciously has assured me that I did not portunity to stretch myself through responding to my constant barrage choose the wrong career; rather, novel afternoon activities, and the of questions throughout this, my my professional growth was being geographic diversity represented “rookie” year. stunted by an unhealthy environ- by the students with whom I lived ment. Now I know that teaching on hall. I could not possibly have Although my colleagues have been is much more satisfying when it is imagined that I would return to quite helpful, I must give much of done in the context of a commu- this idyllic place 14 years later as a the credit for my successful integra- nity that supports me as a holistic new faculty member experiencing tion into campus life to the incred- human being. the same combination of nervous ible student body. I am grateful excitement and mesmerization. for their patience as I became As far as French is concerned, I acclimated to letting class out on look forward to many more years Having attended a private day time without a bell and to allow- of helping students develop strong school and taught in public school ing teenagers into the sanctity of communication skills and nuanced systems, I really did not know my living space. I am grateful for geo-cultural awareness. Beyond whether I would fit in at Asheville their enthusiastic willingness to the classroom, I eagerly await more School. The first few months of my participate in class and in afternoon chances to engage with the Blues new faculty experience could have activities. I am grateful for their through dance, track, service, ad- easily passed for a language immer- constant desire to include me in the visory, meals, hall happenings, and sion course with a never-ending details of their lives, from relation- whatever other opportunities the vocabulary list: seated meal, ATS, ship drama to college decisions. future may hold. Blueline, effort grades, confer- Most of all, though, I am grateful ence period, convocation, vespers, for their unpredictable antics that Morgann Lyles teaches French at Asheville demerits, proctor, duty, making make me laugh when I’m having a School. She received her B.A. from the check, Rockmont Day, Gross Tie University of Georgia and her M.A. from stressful day. Night, senior demo, closed campus Stanford University.

12 Achievement • Spring 2018 Achievement • Spring 2018 13 Alumni Profile: Samuel Goldstein 2016 Earns Podium Finish in 20th Maccabiah Games

In July 2017, Israel hosted the 20th Mac- cabiah Games, a quadrennial multi-sport event that aims to bring Jewish athletes together from across the world for an Olympic-style competition.

Asheville School alumnus Samuel Gold- stein traveled to the games to compete in several track events. He earned three silver medals for Team USA in the 1500-meter run, the 800-meter run, and the 4x400- meter relay.

Goldstein discovered his talent in track late in his Asheville School career. Primarily a tennis player in high school, he ran track for the first time during the spring of his senior year. Even then, he attended only the last few practices of the season, so it outs, and a gym day dedicated to leg work. possible. He is currently majoring in came as a surprise when he won the 800 I have also spent more time this past year polymer chemistry and minoring in and the 1600 and helped the Blues place focusing on post-run recovery stretching, computer science. second in the 4x400 and third in the 4x800 core strengthening and diet.” relays at the NCISAA meet. According to Maccabiah Games’ web- That performance sparked a love of track site, the 2017 games drew almost 10,000 in Goldstein, who decided to pursue track athletes from more than 80 countries. The in college. In 2016, Goldstein entered the first Maccabiah Games were held in 1932, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. and since then the event has grown to While he does not run for their team, he include 43 different sports in the categories has continued to run with the UNC Club of Youth, Open, Masters and Paralympics. Cross Country and Track Team. Goldstein says that he had a great expe- With very little formal training under rience at the games—he loved meeting his belt, Goldstein had to stick to a self- athletes, experiencing the opening and disciplined training regimen to prepare for closing ceremonies, and having the chance the Maccabiah Games. “I’ve never had the to explore Jerusalem. “What stood out to chance to focus exclusively on track train- me was the almost immediate sense of ing,” Goldstein says. “In order to prepare camaraderie between myself and fellow for this competition, I created a weekly distance runners,” he says. schedule that I would follow for the two and a half months preceding my races. A sophomore at UNC, Goldstein plans to This schedule included 50 miles of recov- continue to run with the club team and ery/mild intensity runs, two track work- participate in competitions as often as

14 Achievement • Spring 2018 Architectural Digest Names Asheville School Most Beautiful Private High School in North Carolina

From Staff Reports Boyd Chapel. Over the years, additional buildings have been designed to complement the existing structures and blend with Architectural Digest has confirmed what graduates of Asheville the stunning natural landscape. School have long known: that the campus’s 300 pastoral acres, Tudor-style buildings, and gorgeous mountain views add together Head of School Arch Montgomery cites this rich history for to make one of the most beautiful scenes that can be found. making Asheville School the architectural marvel it is today. “Perhaps you would find such buildings in the context of Oxford In her March 29 article, “The Most Beautiful Private High School or Cambridge,” he says. “But these school buildings are on a ridge in Every State in America,” Hannah Huber ranks Asheville with fields falling away in front of them, facing southwards and School’s campus as the top in North Carolina. bounded by forest before rising up to the crest of Mount Pisgah.”

Named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996, the “It does not hurt that our current grounds crew under Director school’s three main buildings--Anderson, Mitchell, and Lawrence of Facilities Tom Bleick is as hard working and loyal as any group Halls--were designed by architect John Milton Dyer soon after the that can be imagined, and you begin to understand why school’s founding in 1900. In the mid-1920s, renowned Biltmore Architectural Digest identified Asheville School for its truly Estate landscaper Chauncy Beadle designed and landscaped the remarkable buildings and grounds.” campus. 1928 saw the addition of the Art Deco William Spencer

Achievement • Spring 2018 15 Inspiring Inquiry Through Immersive Experiences in the Amazon Rainforest By Alex Hill Staff Writer

Surrounded by lush vegetation, suspended high above the forest floor in a hand-made canopy-walkway during a storm; tast- ing cacao fresh from a farm; fishing for piranha; and walking through a rainfor- est at night when every surface contains wonders of nature like frogs, moths, and huge spiders.

So describes a few moments from “In- quiry, Conservation, and Sustainability in the Amazon,” a professional development course for independent school educators. The 11-day course is facilitated by Mill- brook School’s Ava Goodale and Asheville School’s own Chair of Mathematics and Instructor of Advanced Placement Envi- ronmental Science Mike Hill.

In spring 2018, a group of Asheville School Science instructor Christine Jones helps prepare fish caught in the Sucusari River. teachers and two students traveled to the heart of the Amazon rainforest in northern and protect the rainforest from develop- science and mapping exercises that helped Peru to learn about hands-on inquiry for ment and resource extraction. catalogue the area’s rich biodiversity, and use in classroom teaching. learned both about The participants left with a sense of awe and how to spark passion for science and Their goal was complete immersion in this and invigoration to share their newfound hands-on learning. critical ecosystem. knowledge. “Place-based education cannot be matched “Educators need opportunities to par- “The experience cannot be adequately in terms of the value to the participant,” ticipate in inquiry themselves in order conveyed with pictures or words,” says says Science Department Chair Frank to incorporate inquiry methods in their Asheville School Chair of the Language classrooms,” writes Amazon Rainforest Department and International Student Workshops, which hosts the course. “They Advisor Seth Buddy. “The grandiosity and need to use experience-based techniques complexity of the ecosystem is humbling, in order to guide students in tools and and it naturally invites curiosity and scien- skills of research. They need to experience tific inquiry.” conservation and sustainable development in order to teach about their importance to Each day the group explored a new aspect global health.” of the rainforest.

Educators learn these skills by stepping They traveled the Amazon River by boat, into the world of the Maijuna, a group of discovered the canopy on a suspended people who are native to the area and work walkway, visited farms and learned about to conserve the precious natural resources the Maijuna’s sustainability and conser- Chemistry teacher Joe Lambert relaxes in a hammock next to Math Department Chair Mike Hill vation efforts, participated in citizen- during their trip to the Amazon. 16 Achievement • Spring 2018 Kriegler. “I have read about rainforest ecol- ogy and indigenous people, but actually having personal experiences in the rainfor- est and direct interactions with the people is a much more powerful way to learn.”

Science Instructor Laura Lawrence said that this trip strengthened her understand- ing of the student experience.

“Getting to be a learner again was some- thing I really enjoyed,” she says. “I memo- rized 107 different birds prior to the trip. It was my first time using Quizlet, a tool my students have used for years now. It was shocking to be reminded how difficult it is to master material. I also did quite a bit of reading before our trip, and it was nice to be reminded how challenging it is to store information in my brain without a Students help set “camera traps” — video cameras that help catalogue local tuna. kinesthetic experience to link it to.”

Lawrence says her experiences on the trip Laura Lawrence Describes Her have changed her worldview: “I am seeing my own forest differently by paying atten- Experiences in the Amazon tion to the birds, trees, and other wildlife in ways that I hadn’t done so before,” she says. Laura Lawrence, who teaches biology and Napo River, which feeds into the Amazon physics at Asheville School, wrote the River. It is hard to imagine just how big the The Asheville School teachers have dis- following description of travels to the Amazon River is. At some points I saw it cussed ways of incorporating their experi- Amazon Rainforest for the independent get over five miles wide. No matter where ences into the science curriculum. “I am school educators’ course: Inquiry, Conser- you are in the forest, you are surrounded really excited about making comparisons vation, and Sustainability in the Amazon. by sounds. The cicadas, birds, and amphib- across ecosystems in my AP Environ- ians made the music for our trip. There are mental Science and Biology classes,” says I will always remember no roads, so we took boats everywhere we Science Instructor Christine Jones. “I also the 10 days I spent in couldn’t hike. plan to set up camera traps to inventory Peru. I am so grate- the wildlife we have on campus. I would ful to Mike Hill for One of my favorite experiences was the love to contribute to North Carolina’s organizing this trip and daily 6 a.m. birding boat rides, and one wildlife management database and expose for Asheville School’s morning alone before 7:30 a.m., we had our students to the range of wildlife spe- support of this incred- seen 45 different birds, a sloth, and a fam- cies that call our campus home.” ible opportunity for six faculty members ily of monkeys!! Listening to my friends and two students to travel to the Amazon (both new and old) try to describe the Each participant said that they will carry rainforest over spring break. exact location of a beautiful bird in a tree their experiences from the Amazon for a always made me smile. The colors of the lifetime and hope to reach out to students For the first few days, I couldn’t believe I silver-beaked tanager, paradise tanager, to encourage them to become global was actually waking up in the rainforest. white-winged swallow, and the spangled citizens. We stayed at the Explornapo Lodge located cotinga are stunning. on the Sucusari River, which is just off the

Achievement • Spring 2018 17 machete through the forest to clear a safe ideas from our experience that we plan to path for us. This person was one of the five use in our roles as teachers, hall parents, individuals who built the canopy walkway and coaches, including some interdisci- by hand and inspects it daily. The team plinary work among our math, chemistry, took two years to build the structure and and environmental science courses. We did so without drilling holes in the trees. plan to have our biology students engage in parallel research projects in the 300 We participated in scientific research by acres on our campus. I have already seen setting camera traps and inventoried the our AP Biology students with binoculars trees in a transect of the forest. We found identifying the birds on campus, and we over 100 different species in just .03 of a are even planning a mapping exercise with hectare, and that doesn’t include the small the faculty during an upcoming service or large trees, palms, or ferns! day.

We fished in the river, cleaned the fish in a Mike Hill is collaborating with the Ama- local house, and ate the fish for dinner that zon Workshops organization to organize night. an annual course for teachers and students

Faculty members and students work together in the from independent schools, and I look for- Amazon Rainforest. The guides who joined them We visited a medical clinic that is taking ward to seeing how this program unfolds helped to keep them safe. care of people for miles up and down the and creates global connections as well as Amazon. strengthens local ones within schools. The We spent three days learning with the time spent and experience with my col- Maijuna, an indigenous tribe who is saving Giant bugs, a bioluminescence tree, unbe- leagues was invaluable. a million acres of rainforest and being in- lievably amazing food, big spiders, huge novative in generating income by growing trees, a red-tailed boa constrictor and a I left the Amazon with a deep sense of be- chocolate and keeping stingless bee hives. fer-de-lance, a sloth, monkeys, leaf-cutter ing a global citizen and am grateful for the The local people are so resourceful, and ants, black-mantled tamarins, dolphins reminder of the similarities we share with they use the forest for everything from and so much more made this trip memo- humans around the globe. I feel challenged making their dugout canoes which they rable. Watching the blue morpho butterfly to make conscious choices that preserve use for fishing and travel, to harvesting flutter around is a magical experience. our earth and fellow humans. I have been palms to make roofs that last five years. By the end of the trip, I could recognize inspired to help my students experience a We got to experience the Maijuna banana, the ringed kingfishers as easily as I can sense of place in our home. yuca, and cacao farms, and even got to identify a cardinal here in WNC, and I taste the fresh cacao fruit. We also got to could distinguish the yellow-headed ca- At the most basic level, I was reminded taste honey made by stingless bees in a racara call from that of the russet-backed how powerful an experience can be, and Maijuna house. oropendulum. What originally was a sea this has rejuvenated my passion for facili- of green had become familiar plants. My tating experiences for our students. We spent several lovely mornings and af- colleagues and I brainstormed over fifteen ternoons in the 14-tower canopy walkway. It was unbelievable to be up on top of the forest watching the sunrise, listening to the screaming piha, and feeling the breeze and warmth from the sunlight.

Our guides worked hard to share their forest with us and keep us safe. While we were covered from head to toe in protec- tive clothing and bug spray, we followed a guide who was walking barefoot with a

18 Achievement • Spring 2018 Update on the Head of School Search - Spring 2018 To our Asheville School family:

I would like to provide you an update on the Head of School search.

• The search has generated a great deal of interest across a broad spectrum of highly qualified individuals from coast to coast. We believe this is a testament to how the school is perceived today and the high regard that is held for our future.

• Our colleagues at Carney Sandoe have been hard at work, recruiting a wide swath of top-tier candidates who are highly motivated to pursue the opportunity. We are confident that we will have a deep and diverse national pool from which to choose.

• Throughout the spring, the Search Committee and Carney Sandoe have been working together to narrow the pool to a slate of candidates who will be invited to participate in face-to-face interviews. The feedback we received from the constituent survey in which many of you participated will play an important role in our deliberations during the screening and evaluation process.

• The committee hopes to make a final recommendation to the board following the final round of interviews this summer. On behalf of the Search Committee, I would like to thank all of you for your help and your trust as we pursue this critical endeavor for the school we all love.

Best,

Oliver G. Prince, Jr. 1971 Head of School Search Committee

Achievement • Spring 2018 19 Vive la Difference - Asheville School

By Tom Marberger 1969

“My parents dropped me off … [and] after they left, I sat on my bed and thought to myself in moderate panic, ‘what on earth have I just done?’” (Scott Foster letter to Tom Marberger). That’s how Scott Foster ’75 recalls his first day at Asheville School in the fall of 1971. Historians like to ask if certain times, events, or circumstances are different in degree or kind from previous times, events, or circumstances. My father had his own phrase: “It’s the same thing, only different.” The 1971-72 school year began in much the same way as every year before it. “Old” students arrived with con- fidence, eager to see their friends. “New” students (such as Foster) arrived with varying degrees of trepidation, knowing nobody and eager only not to draw undue There was a “new look” at Asheville School in the 1971-72 school year. attention to themselves. In many ways, the start of this school year was indeed the body president Baker Duncan watched the thought the best approach was to treat the same thing, only different, from the previ- tryouts for the school’s first female cheer- occasion as ordinary. Steve Levin ’73 com- ous seventy-one. leaders. They chose five for the varsity mented, “Obviously, everyone, whether squad: Buffy Hazelhurst ’72, Anne Lalley he’d admit it or not, was fascinated. That said, the “only different” part was of ’73, Pat Lees ’72, Dori Formato ’74, and Among the juniors, at least, we were also historic significance: In the fall of 1971, Peggy Hess ’73. Joining the girls were L. R. somewhat petrified. We’d had blind dates the first female students attended Asheville Smith ’72, Larry Kohn ’72, Larry Wilcher for dances and knew what we knew about School. For its first 67 years, the school ’74, Marshall Bassett ’72, and Mark Hapak women (nothing)…. We were on our best was all male and all white. In the next ’72. The squad made its school-wide debut behavior – whatever that was – and totally five years the school had become racially at a pep rally on September 17, and then nervous when it came to being waiters integrated and co-educational. Consider- cheered the Blues to victory over Gaston at the meals” (Steve Levin letter to Tom ing the times and the place, those changes Day in a Monday game. Marberger, August, 2017). were surely more of kind than of degree. The fourth page of The Ashnoca had two Marshall Bassett ’72 recalls the year this Interestingly enough, the year’s first articles under the headline “The New way. “I seem to remember the advent of Ashnoca made little mention of the start Look,” one by D. G. Clarke ’72 and one by girls at the school was initially greeted of coeducation. The lead stories on the juniors Susie Coxe and Rosemary Movius. with curiosity more than anything else. front page dealt with new faculty members Each was written as a piece of humor Except for a few relationships, there wasn’t and the year’s prefects. The faculty article rather than as a straightforward, serious the windfall one might have hoped for in began by noting, “Along with seventeen reflection on coeducation. the love department. I realized after a few new girls on campus as day students…” months what a positive effect on the atmo- (The Ashnoca October 2, 1971, p. 1). A The humorous pieces fit into Ashnoca sphere and culture of the school the girls story about cheerleaders appeared on the tradition and are not surprising in and of were making, simply by their being there. third page of The Ashnoca. Headmaster themselves. Rather, it is the absence of a It was in such stark contrast to the previ- Jack Tyrer, AD Chuck Carter, and student page one lead story or a thoughtful edito- ous year as to be remarkable. My senior rial that catches the eye. Perhaps everyone year was a happy one and the presence of 20 Achievement • Spring 2018 girls, I think, was an important contribut- As the fall term moved along, the students As a sign of the growing importance of ing factor” (Marshall Bassett letter to Tom began to fill leadership roles in school this football rivalry, 1971 marked the first Marberger, September, 2017). clubs and activities. Buffy Hazelhurst ’72 season in which the Arbogast-Fayssoux became an assistant editor of The Blue and trophy would be presented to the winning The school year quickly settled into the White and joined the dance committee. team. The trophy was named to honor routine that had changed little since 1900 Seniors Scott McKell and Harry Mickey coaching legends “Hop” Arbogast (AS) and – chapel services, classes, tests, meals, study had hopes of reviving The Review and were “Fessor” Fayssoux (CS). Between them, the halls, games, and a few town days. The chosen as co-editors. Carol Emmet was men had served their schools for over 80 football team got off to a good start by elected to the Mitchell Cabinet and The years. defeating Gaston Day 22-6 in the season Review board, and she became an editorial opener. Mark Walters ’72 rushed for 159 assistant for The Ashnoca. Marshall Bassett Pep rallies with female students, the best yards and was named Buncombe County ’72 was the year’s president of the Music record in 30 years, and a new trophy to back-of-the-week. Seniors Sim Cross Society, and Harry Mickey headed up the play for were not enough to boost the and Walter Cox spearheaded a crushing Library Committee. Blues to victory. In a disappointing game defense that held Gaston to minus 15 yards that failed to live up to the anticipation, rushing. The Blues followed that win with The Christ School game arrived with high the Blues were stymied and lost 28-0. an 18-6 victory over Spartanburg Day. expectations for the football team. The Although The Ashnoca praised the seniors Mitch Duke’s two touchdown receptions first game between the two schools, played for their effort in the season finale, the led the way. The J.V. football squad opened in 1911, resulted in an 84-0 victory for the loss still stung and marred what otherwise its season with a 26-0 romp over Christ Blues. Six decades later, each team entered had been a very successful and memorable Church School. Success touched the cross- the contest with optimism that was justi- season. country team as well. The runners won fied by its record. Christ School was 5-2 their first two meets before Avery High with ten seniors in the starting lineup. The The editors of The Ashnoca took an ana- beat the Blues in the season’s third contest Blues entered the game with a 6-1 record, lytical approach in their discussion about (The Ashnoca October 2, 1971, p. 3). the only loss coming at the hands of pow- the ever-present time crunch at Asheville erhouse Charlotte Country Day; this was School. “In recent weeks, the problem of In mid-October, a “new kid” named the Blues’ best record since 1941 when it time has reached the point of being nearly PDP-8e arrived on campus and created a had enjoyed an undefeated season. Christ unbearable…. the seniors are perhaps the bit of a stir. This “new kid” was a digital School was strong on offense and the hardest hit…. At the heart of the problem computer “identical in capacity to the Blues were strong on defense. During the is a mathematical inconsistency involving 1950 260 Univac. But in 1950 the Uni- season, Bill Strietmann ’73 and Sim Cross homework and time. The student … is left vac cost 1.5 million dollars and covered ’72 had been named linemen of the week. with no time to work [on homework] in four rooms. [In addition to being much It sounded like a classic matchup (The smaller, the AS] computer also worked Ashnoca November 6, 1971, p. 5). three times faster [than the 1950 version]” (The Ashnoca November 6, 1971, p. 1). The only problem was that since its arrival, the computer worked only about 50% of the time. In fact, the photo in The Ashnoca has the caption “computer on the blink.” That sounds all too familiar even in 2018.

Many families arrived on campus for Parents’ Weekend in mid-October. Though completely unrelated to Asheville School, an event that would be important to many parents and their children for years to come took place: Disney World opened in Florida! The computer is on the blink in the early 1970’s at Asheville School.

Achievement • Spring 2018 21 the afternoon. The evening study periods leave him three hours to complete his as- signments for four or five teachers: each of whom is supposed to assign (according to school policy) one and one half hours of homework” (The Ashnoca November 20, 1971, p. 2).

Simple calculations reveal the seriousness of the problem the students faced. Wheth- er in the 1920’s, the 1950’s, the 1970’s or in the 21st century, Asheville School students have always faced the challenge of time, and in that regard, the school in 2018 is different in degree, not in kind, from the school of 1971. Walters sizes up the opposition.

A new calendar year brought renewed The new year provided another reason for a 3-2 start, lost 10 of its next 12 games to spirit to the campus as the students came student optimism when it was decided finish at 5-12. There were plenty of good back in January for the second semester. that students would be appointed to four individual performances to celebrate, as The Film Society made its Asheville School faculty committees: Curriculum, Religion, well as a 56-52 defeat of Christ School in debut and announced its first two films Social, and Campus. As noted in an Ashno- the first match-up between the two, but would be Long Day’s Journey into Night ca editorial, “The appointment of students otherwise, the season was disappointing. and The General. “This Society will provide to traditionally all-faculty committees is The soccer team used an eight-game win- a stopper to a large gap in the culture at by far the most important and optimistic ning streak (including a victory over Christ the school. The films provided will not change in school policy of the last several School) to compile a 9-5 record. only be some of the greats of the motion years. Now, the adamant authority of the picture industry, but films stimulating to faculty will be challenged by the voice of The swimmers closed the season with the intellect of the students” (The Ashnoca youth” (The Ashnoca January 22, 1972, p. back-to-back victories and finished with January 22, 1972, p. 1). 2). a 4-5 record. By far the most successful winter team was the J.V. basketball squad, On January 15, Asheville School sent a A month later there was cause for opti- coached by Mr. Bromley. The team began group of students to the UNC-A campus mism on a national scale when President the season by running off seven con- for an international simulation that was Richard Nixon made his historic trip to secutive victories and closed with another arranged by UNC-A political science pro- China. Nixon’s long-established and strong seven-game winning streak. Unfortunately, fessor Dr. Farzanegan. Seniors Bob Paulsen anti-communist positions gave him the a loss in the 8th game prevented a perfect and Jack Rogers had already painted a flag right amount of political gravitas to make season. for AS’s mythical country Dorb. About a this abrupt change in American policy dozen seniors spent a long day delivering with China. In his “Au Courant” column, International simulation participants at messages, making proposals, preparing Blake Beam ’72 wrote, “Through talks such UNC-A wanted to duplicate the earlier budgets, working out treaties, and keep- as these, we can better understand the po- event on campus. In mid-April, Mitchell ing track of everything. By the end of the sition of the Chinese, and they can better Hall was the scene of a day-long competi- event, Dorb’s economy had grown 500% understand ours…. These talks can be the tion. Reinhard Werner ’72 and history and made it the one country that could beginning of the establishment of better teacher Barrett Toan designed the contest’s stand up against the aggressive nation of diplomatic relations with China. We must scenario that “resembled the situation in Argo. At the evening banquet, the Asheville not, however, expect too much from this Africa in the nineteenth century. Each School team was awarded first place (The trip” (The Ashnoca March 4, 1972, p. 2). country had a particular problem it had Ashnoca January 22, 1972, p. 1). to solve in addition to grappling with five March meant that winter sports were other nations for world dominance…. All winding down. The basketball team had in all the whole affair came off well and 22 Achievement • Spring 2018 begun its season with promise, but after everyone seemed to have fun and to have a better understanding of world affairs” (The Noel portrayed Mark Twain for the stu- Les Hines ’74 and David Moss ’73 led the Ashnoca April 22, 1972, p. 1). dent body as one of the school’s Required defensive side of things, while good hitting Culture evenings. by Mike Smith ’73, John Stevens ’73, Larry A sure sign that the year is nearing its end Kohn ’72, Mitch Duke ’72, and Steve Levin is the transition to the next year’s Ash- May began with a Headmaster’s holiday, ’73 paced the offense. Led by senior Collis noca board. Heading the ’72-’73 Ashnoca but in an unusual twist, Mr. Tyrer declared Sanders, Ed Isbey ’73, and 4th formers would be “rising seniors” Mark McPherson it in honor of four seniors and not for Bob Rice and Mark Yonce, the tennis team as editor-in-chief and Tynes Quarles as a distinguished alumnus. Joanne Ward ran off an 8-match streak (including a 9-0 managing editor. Charles Vance ’73 was earned a National Merit Scholarship to trouncing of Christ School) and brought named feature editor. Matt Davis ’73 and Meredith College; Bob Rayle earned a its record to 9-1. The track team ran its Bill McGowan ’74 were named copy edi- merit scholarship to Kenyon, which he record to 12-5 as Sim Cross ’72 broke the tors. In another “rite of spring,” the Board turned down to go to Harvard; Michael conference record in the shot, and Bill Stri- of Trustees met on campus, discussing “the Heedy won and accepted a Morehead etmann ’73 broke the previous conference painting of the five major buildings, [cre- Scholarship to Chapel Hill; Everett Duke record in the 880 – but against stiff compe- ating] a new parking lot behind Mitchell won a National Achievement Scholarship tition that earned him just a second-place … and removing that black heap of scrap (The Ashnoca May 20, 1972, p. 1). A few finish. Temple Tutweiler took a first in the metal behind Anderson … in a couple of days later, the student body elected Van conference pole vault (The Ashnoca May weeks when the city finishes laying the new Thompson, Bill Shefte, and Mark Yonce 20, 1972, p. 3). water main to the school” (The Ashnoca as president, vice-president and secretary- May 5, 1972, p. 1). Instead of a parking lot treasurer respectively of the new Student 1972 was a presidential election year, and behind Mitchell, today we enjoy that won- Council. On May 20, the baseball field was the primary season was in full swing. The derful expanse of grass known as Kehaya named for William F. “Uncle Will” Lewis, Republicans were staying with Nixon, but Lawn, and that black heap still towers over who coached baseball and taught history the Democratic nomination was wide the campus as a revered landmark. at Asheville School from 1923 to 1967. The open, with 15 candidates competing at some point in the process. By mid-May, Hubert Humphrey, George McGovern and George Wallace had separated themselves from the rest of the field when, during a campaign stop in Maryland, Alabama Governor George Wallace was shot five times.

On Saturday, June 3, 1972, Asheville School held commencement exercises for the class of 1972. Vic Mitchener delivered the salutatory and DeWitt Long gave the valedictory. Class poet Bill McCutcheon expressed in verse what just about every Asheville graduate has felt to some degree when he said: Tom Noel portrayed Mark Twain for the student body as one of the school’s Required Culture evenings.

I entered a world On Sunday, April 30, “The lights [in the next day, the seniors went on their annual A strange, new, lovely and terrifying world; theatre] dimmed and the room became camping trip to Mt. Le Conte. A world of the mind, oddly secluded hushed, the well-dressed figure of an From the nether world around. old man limped onto the stage. He was May brought the end of athletic seasons. My ears split with warnings, my mind wearing a white single-breasted suit … The baseball team won three of four in softly spinning, he had a disheveled hairdo and a bushy the final week, bringing its record to 7-3 I faltered and foibled mustache. For all purposes, this man was and putting itself into contention for the And altered my life to fit into this world, Mark Twain” (The Ashnoca May 5, 1972, p. second spot in the conference. Pitching by This world I had taken as mine …. 1). In a well-received performance, Tom Achievement • Spring 2018 23 But after I enter the maze of tomorrow With all its paths and promises I’ll not forget to look over my shoulder Remembering all of the good times and bad. In this world that was mine for a while.

Diplomas were awarded, and Carol Em- met became the first female graduate of Asheville School. Mark Strange’s ivy oration followed, and the class of 1972 joined the ranks of the alumni, a body that now included alumnae. Two weeks later a break-in was reported at the Democratic National headquarters in the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC. Those who read Mighty McNair makes first touchdown over grabbing Greenies. The Blues held on to win the 1972 game 14-12, the first Asheville win since 1967. of that event had no idea what lay ahead of the country as a result. six-day week was compacted into five. Although Christ School weekend was al- When the students returned to campus in That meant the loss of the cross-period ways a highlight of the fall term, in 1972 it the fall of 1972, no changes as remarkable (free period) that many Asheville School perhaps had more significance than usual. as the start of coeducation awaited them, students had known and loved. The explanation was simple: the Blues had but as always there were new teachers. lost four years in a row. 1972 graduates Tommy Thompson was the new chem- School discipline was going to be handled had never seen a football victory over the istry teacher, and he would also instruct differently this year. The “stick” (demer- Greenies, and the class of ’73 was deter- woodworking; Edward Moore was the its) system was being abandoned; nobody mined that they would not suffer a similar new chaplain and would teach religion would really miss it. In his editorial, Mark fate. For the football team, if not the entire and American history; John Tolson would McPherson noted that, “With the stick campus, as the big game approached, the be teaching English and history; Donna system went ambiguities and injustices. rallying cry became “Five in a row? Hell Lewis, Sly’s wife, would teach English and With the stick system went the stick list no.” The 1972 game epitomized what good assist in drama; Don Wilson was returning also. It was this same list that drew crowds rivalries mean. “Usually, either one or to the school after a two-year absence for of boys to the bulletin board Tuesdays and both of the schools is battling for the CAA law school to teach American history and Fridays…. It was the stick list that decided title, but this year both teams are mired work in admissions (The Ashnoca Septem- our fate for the next three days, whether deep in the cellar with only honor and ber 30, 1972, p. 1). we were free or bound by the fetters of prestige on the line” (The Ashnoca Novem- community law” (The Ashnoca September ber 4, 1972, p. 3). There was a new twist to the academic side 30, 1972, p. 2). In place of the stick system of school life that took shape in the form was the newly created Dorm Council that Beating your rival is always sweet. Beating of Study Projects. “The Projects are intend- would give a greater role to dorm faculty your rival and ending a four-year losing ed to channel student interests in academi- and prefects in maintaining discipline and streak is sweeter still. It is sweetest when cally related areas…. Any proposed project granting privileges. such sentimental circumstances actually which would have benefit in later life play out on the field the way “the script” would probably be accepted” (The Ashnoca As the school year was beginning, the 1972 calls for. Two first-quarter TD’s by Mike September 30, 1972, p. 1). Jan Pulley ’74 Olympics were taking place in Munich. McNair gave the Blues a 14-0 lead as the recalls that through the project program, The universally loved games unite the quarter ended, and though still early, the she was able to spend two weeks in Mexico world for a brief week or two, but this game seemed to be under control for to see the Mayan ruins (Jan Pulley letter to event of celebration turned into one of Asheville. A scoreless second quarter left Tom Marberger, August, 2017). To make unimaginable horror and tragedy when a the Blues with that same 14-point lead. projects fit the schedule, the traditional Palestinian terror group kidnapped and After the halftime break, “the Greenies ultimately killed eleven members of the came out charged up like a bright harvest 24 Achievement • Spring 2018 Israeli Olympic team. moon. They riddled the Blues’ second- ary for two long completions and finally winter sports teams found themselves well When can their glory fade? scored on a 17-yard toss” (The Ashnoca into their seasons. The soccer team sported O the wild charge they made! December 2, 1972, p. 3). A two-point con- a 3-1 record. The team lost goalie Butch All the world wondered. version failed and the third quarter ended Gudger for the season, but Bill Striet- Honor the charge they made! at 14-6. The Blues were ahead, but not mann and Harris Baker ’74 stepped in for Honor the light brigade! necessarily in control. him. The offense was powered by Dennis Noble sixth formers! Pierce ’73, juniors Charlie Hallowell, Sam (The Ashnoca January 27, 1973, p. 3) Momentum had shifted and Christ School Garlock, and Arnold Barrett, and Sola appeared more dominant as the game Mahoney ’76. The basketball team -- aka Required Culture was alive and well in the moved into the fourth quarter. With Cardiac Kids because of nail-biting games winter term. The touring group “Sewanee four and a half minutes left, the Greenies -- showed a 4-3 record as it approached Arts” presented three one-act plays written scored again, and “the game hinged on the the mid-season. Of course, it was a team by George Bernard Shaw, Edna St. Vincent Greenies’ conversion of the two points. effort, but the Blues were led by captain Millay, and Friederich Durrenmatt. In The handoff was to Campbell [CS run- Mark Meech ’73, Billy Sutton ’73, and February, Spanish classical guitarist Miguel ning back] who leaped to the one, but Bill Mike McNair ’74. The swim team, led by Rubio gave a Sunday night performance. Strietmann and Van Thompson slowed captains Van Thompson ’73 and Hank Though not part of the Required Culture him up, and Charlie Hallowell ’74 applied Baker ’73 had a 1-1 record in the early program, another arts opportunity was the finishing touch” (The Ashnoca Decem- going. presented by Asheville’s Dramatic Society. ber 2, 1972, p. 3). The Blues held on to Prenty Hallenbeck ’73 and Dori Formato win 14-12. While those were the highlights of the ma- ’74 had the lead roles in Thornton Wilder’s jor, organized competitions, a less struc- The Skin of Our Teeth (The Ashnoca Janu- After the game, Coach Ron Bromley said, tured competition took place in January. ary 27, 1973, p. 1 and February 24, 1973, “There was more determination and Though never scheduled, snowball fights p.1). desire than I have ever seen. The football will always occur when weather conditions team realized that the whole school cared permit. In January, the weather cooper- Mark McPherson and Van Thompson were whether the team won or lost. They knew ated. There were actually two battles that nominated for the Morehead Scholarship. that they had to win the game” (The Ash- year, but the class of ’73 will remember just The arts and sports, and the normal rou- noca December 2, 1972, p. 3). This was the one, and Steve Levin ’73 celebrated that tine of school life occupied the students’ quintessential rivalry game, an exciting, achievement in verse when he parodied time and minds, when, on January 23, close game played for nothing but pride Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “Charge of the Henry Kissinger did indeed reach an agree- and tradition. Light Brigade.” ment with North Vietnam’s Le Duc Tho

In late October, about 10 days before the Christ School game, President Nixon’s chief foreign policy strategist, Henry Kissinger, made his famous (perhaps infamous?) utterance about the : “We believe peace is at hand.” After nearly a year of secret negotiations with North Vietnam, Kissinger thought that he had reached a peace agreement with the North. On the Tuesday after the Christ School game, Nixon defeated Democratic candidate George McGovern by one of the largest margins in election history. In December, the U.S. resumed its bombing of Hanoi and the North. Peace was not quite at hand.

As the students came back from Christ- Mark McPherson and Van Thompson were both nominated for the Morehead Scholarship. mas break and settled into the routine, the Achievement • Spring 2018 25 that would bring American involvement in and Doug Byrd ’74 would be the manag- reate sermon; “his encouraging words Vietnam to an end. Nixon called it “peace ing editor. On April 8 and 9, the seniors and optimistic feelings towards the class with honor,” but South Vietnam’s Presi- went on their annual trek to Mt. Le Conte. strengthened ties and set the mood for the dent Thieu felt betrayed by the American “Pop Hollandsworth led a group of boys weekend” (The Ashnoca June 2, 1973, p.1). withdrawal. The most common reaction in to a spot where an airplane had crashed a Later that night the Dramatic Society put the American public was relief that the US few weeks earlier. They found a starving on a final performance of Our Town. On was leaving the quagmire of Vietnam. dog which they … returned to its owner, June 2, Rick Rogers delivered the saluta- the daughter of the dead pilot…. Everyone tory address, and Mark McPherson offered As the basketball season drew to a close, had a very good time [on the trip]” (The the valedictory. Diplomas were awarded, a number of players chipped in at key Ashnoca April 21, 1973, p.1). and the class of 1973 headed off into the moments. Herman Schmid’s ’73 late world. That world included the Watergate basket secured a close victory over Christ The spring teams fared well, with all teams hearings that had begun in May. School in the teams’ first meeting of the except baseball (7-8) posting winning re- season. Ed Isbey ’73 hit a jump shot to ice cords. Valier award winner Tynes Quarles The 1973-1974 school year started with the Gaston Day game, though Sutton and ’73 jumped and ran the track team to a new elections and appointments: Doug Meech led the scoring. Mike McNair was 10-6 record. Although led by seven seniors, Byrd to head the Mitchell Cabinet, and an ever-present force contributing both the baseball team had trouble putting good Hugh Hemmings its secretary-treasurer; rebounding and scoring in every game. offense and good defense together con- Les Hines president of the choir, and Larry The swim team finished with a 3-6 record, sistently. The Blues did have a hot streak Wilcher secretary-treasurer. Seven seniors but contributions by fourth formers Keith when they won 4 out of 5, including a were selected prefects for the year: Field Bishop, Karl Schmid, and Steve Rain gave well-played 1-0 over Charlotte Day. Cap- Coxe, Bobby Clutts, Lee Sparkman, Bob the Blues optimism about the future. tain Ed Isbey led the tennis team to a 6-4 Rice, Hugh Hemmings, Tim Wolfe, and Captains Charlie Hallowell ’74, Dennis record that included two lopsided victories Butch Gudger. Pierce ’73, and Bill Strietmann ’73 and over Christ School. Tom Hofbauer ’76 and solid team defense led the soccer team to senior captain Ferris Cann helped the golf The fall teams got off to a good start, as an 8-4 record. team earn a 4-3 record. football split its first two games, losing to Gaston Day and beating North Carolina Soon after the students returned from On the national sports scene, Secretariat School for the Deaf. Coach Ron Bromley spring, another Required Culture by the won the Kentucky Derby in record time, was pleased with the team’s backfield, and Duke’s Men from Yale University enter- and followed that with another out-of-the- said the line was already showing improve- tained the student body with a variety of pack victory in the Preakness. A few weeks ment. He promised a victory over rival tunes. On the same day, the last American later, he won the Belmont Stakes in record- Christ School, “regardless of what they combat troops withdrew from Vietnam. setting time, beating the nearest com- have over there” (The Ashnoca September A few days later, the Christ School drama petitor by some 30 lengths. For a country 29, 1973, p.1). The runners beat Asheville department entertained Asheville School weary from Vietnam and the widening High and lost to Erwin in a three-team with a performance of Dracula. “After Watergate scandal, Secretariat was a much meet, and then trounced Christ School by Count Dracula’s suspenseful demise, and welcomed hero – even if he was a horse. taking spots 2-6. The girls hadn’t played several curtain calls amidst thunderous a field hockey game yet, but they were applause, students returned to their stud- More transitions to the next year included optimistic under the leadership of Marga- ies enriched by Christ School’s generosity Student Council elections naming Bob ret Walton. and talent” (The Ashnoca April 21, 1973, Rice president, Lee Sparkman vice-pres- p.1). Asheville School’s own Dramatic ident, and Tom Giduz ’75 secretary-trea- On October 10, Vice President Spiro Society was already hard at work as Prenty surer. The Mitchell Cabinet selected rising Agnew resigned his office because of Hallenbeck once again had the lead role seniors Vicki Jayne, Fran Doloboff, Eleanor charges of corruption while he was gover- in a Thornton Wilder play, this time, Our Ward, Butch Gudger, Hugh Hemmings, nor of Maryland. Once the darling of the Town. Larry Wilcher, Field Coxe, and Mark Yonce political right, Agnew’s fall from grace was to serve in the 73-74 school year. yet another black eye for a Nixon admin- The traditional transition to a new istration that was rapidly losing credibil- Ashnoca board took place in April. Hugh At the the seventy-third commencement ity and support. Two days later, Nixon Hemmings ’74 was named editor-in-chief, exercises, former teacher and chaplain nominated Gerald Ford to replace Agnew. 26 Achievement • Spring 2018 Arthur Brooks delivered the Baccalau- Later in October, former Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall spoke to the school an announcement of a new gym were all after the Thanksgiving break and the start about the energy crisis – a new term in the omens of success for the Blues as the team of Christmas can be intense. The first American lexicon. traveled across town for the Saturday after- weekend in December has historically been noon game. Alas, the Greenies must have an SAT test date for many juniors and se- October brought its share of positive read different tea leaves, and they domi- niors. When that hurdle has been cleared, events to the school. Parents’ Weekend nated the Blues in a 28-0 trouncing. Fol- teachers try to fit in last-minute tests right followed its usual routine that concluded lowing Sunday’s chapel service, Mr. Tyrer before fall-term exams. with a football game. The Blues lost that officially broke ground for the new gym. game to Charlotte Country Day, but that Then he declared a whole holiday in honor Exam time has a character all its own. The didn’t dampen the good feeling about of Board chairman Harris. It was suddenly freshmen may not know what is about the weekend. Parents came away from a good CS weekend, despite the loss (The to happen to them; sophomores may not the weekend having a better sense of Ashnoca November 17, 1973, p. 1). care too much; juniors know how impor- school life, and the students were able to tant the entire year is for them in terms of spend time with their families – and eat As fall term ended, students and faculty college applications; for seniors, fall-term some non-dining hall food! The campus performed in and enjoyed an entertaining exams are the last chance to boost tran- received good news on the scholastic front talent show. A hit of the evening was the scripts for college applications. Throw in as well. John Hazlehurst and Eddy Metz faculty barbershop quintet. Messrs. Tyrer, a Required Culture performance of Julius were named National Merit semi-finalists, Paul Bates, Hollandsworth, Carter, and Caesar, and that two-week period was sud- and Doug Byrd reached the same status Embler entertained the school with “Sweet denly very jam packed in December 1973. in the National Achievement Scholarship Adeline.” Not to be outdone, Ann Coxe, As if that weren’t enough, there was also Program. In cross-country, Arnold Barrett Oriel Jarrett, Donna Lewis, and Margaret a bomb scare on campus a few days after broke the course record by 8 seconds and Walton pantomimed tunes of the Andrews Thanksgiving break. Fortunately, it was the school record by 20 seconds (The Ash- Sisters while wearing 1940’s attire. Student simply a hoax. Exam time does indeed noca October 27, 1973, pp.1, 3). “acts” included the funny and the serious, have a character all its own, and you could and everyone left the show in good spirits almost hear a collective sigh of relief as the As October faded into November, Hallow- and ready for Thanksgiving break. last exam ended and the last student closed een’s Gross Tie Night costume guidelines his dorm room door and headed off for called for “a tie or a reasonable facsimile The good news about Asheville School is Christmas break (The Ashnoca December hung in the vicinity of the neck” (The that if the students make it to Thanksgiv- 8, 1973, pp. 1, 2). Ashnoca November 17, 1973, p. 1). Jeff ing, it will be Christmas break before they Benedict ’75 won first prize, and The know it. The bad news is that the time Ashnoca declared the evening the “culture event of the season.”

On the heels of Halloween, the students, faculty, and many alumni gathered on Arbogast Field for Christ School Week- end’s Friday night bonfire and pep rally. Coaches Bromley, Earl Mitchelle, and Bill Embler led the students in cheers, speech- es, and exhortations to victory over the Greenies. At the noon meal on Saturday, Board Chairman Huntington Harris ’31 announced the building of the new gym- nasium that would be ready for use in the winter of the ‘74-75 school year.

Coach Bromley’s earlier assurances that we would beat the Greenies, a spirited Gross Tie Night, an energetic pep rally, and The Asheville School Barbershop Quintet amazes students with the rendition of “Sweet Adeline.” Achievement • Spring 2018 27 If exam time has its own character, then Days grow longer and warmer, dogwoods typical fashion, each speaker pointed out so, too, does January. It was January on and azaleas bloom, and the students (es- some areas he thought the school should campus and it felt like it as The Ashnoca pecially the seniors) can see the finish line change or improve, and each speaker editorialized about the post-Christmas of commencement. It didn’t hurt that the talked about the importance of the person- blahs, a malaise that is part and parcel of baseball and tennis teams won their first al relationships that students form while “senioritis.” games and had plenty of experience on here. Whatever the class of 1974 did or did their teams to give them optimism for the not accomplish, they had become a very Blahs notwithstanding, all was not bleak. season ahead. The school’s first girls’ tennis close-knit class, and they remain so today. Bob Rice and Hugh Hemmings were team joined the fun as they won their first nominated as the school’s Morehead match by beating Asheville High 8-1 (The As the class of 1975 enjoyed their summer Scholar candidates, and The Ashnoca Ashnoca April 20, 1974, p. 3). and waited for their senior year to begin, celebrated its 45th anniversary. Robert the House Judiciary Committee passed Searles was named the new Director of the The spring term brought more cultural three articles of impeachment against Alumni Office; Joseph Spear, a staff worker opportunities to the campus. Eliot Wig- President Nixon. Aware that he would not for columnist Jack Anderson, spoke to the ginton spoke about his work on The Foxfire win an impeachment trial, on August 8, school community on a Sunday night Re- Book, and the Birmingham-Southern Con- Nixon announced his resignation as Presi- quired Culture. The soccer team enjoyed a cert Choir performed for the students and dent of the . Vice President 6-game winning streak, and the basketball faculty after lunch on April 4. Appealing to Gerald Ford became the nation’s thirty- team was at 5-2, including a victory over the stomach rather than the intellect, the eighth president. Charlotte Country Day. In the first year of Student Council’s Snack Bar was up and having swim teams for boys and girls, the running and already extending its menu to The school began its seventy-fifth year boys found themselves at 1-1, while the include frozen products to go along with with new faculty members: Chris Bor- girls were 0-1, having lost to Spartanburg the more traditional sandwiches and pizza dagaray would live on first Anderson and (The Ashnoca January 26, 1974, pp. 1, 2, 3). (The Ashnoca April 20, 1974, p. 1). teach American history; Forest Dillon, the new Latin teacher living on second As that distant glimmer of spring break April turned into May, and seniors made Lawrence, coached soccer and built neared, winter sports teams ended their their college decisions. Teams played their harpsichords. Returning for a second seasons. Led by captains Andrew Potts last games as baseball, track, tennis, and stint was David Huntley, to teach English, and Charlie Hallowell, the soccer team golf all enjoyed winning records. The girls coach cross country, and live on second won 4 of its last 5 (including two over the finished their inaugural tennis season at Anderson. Doug Worthington, the school’s Greenies) to end the year with a 12-3-1 .500. The seniors took their camping trip Director of Public Relations, began teach- record. Despite many good individual per- to Mount Le Conte. Dave Stover, Jeff ing public speaking. Six prefects were formances, the basketball team struggled Benedict, and Tom Sharpley were elected appointed at the start of the year: Jeff down the stretch to end the year at 9-11. In president, vice-president, and secretary- Benedict, Karl Schmid, David Stover, Tom terms of effort, improvement, and tenac- treasurer respectively for the ’74-’75 Stu- Hinkle, Bobby Durrah, and Will Callison ity against strong competition, the swim dent Council (The Ashnoca May 18, 1974, ’76 as the day student prefect. Jane Hutton team had a good year; however, important pp. 1, 3). ’75 would join the group later in the year though those aspects are, they did not (The Ashnoca October 5, 1974, p. 1). translate into a winning record. The tank- National news was of historic import. On men finished 1-7. April 30, the White House released tran- Fall teams played their first games. The scripts of the Nixon tapes, but the House football squad made too many mistakes In Washington D.C., Nixon counsel Herb Judiciary Committee insisted that Nixon and lost its first two outings to Gaston Kalmbach pled guilty to two charges of turn over the actual tapes themselves. The Day and Riverside Military Academy. illegal campaign activities. Shortly after theory of separation of powers was about Nevertheless, spirit remained high as the that, Nixon was named an unindicted to be tested. Even more stunning, on May team looked ahead to its next opponent, co-conspirator in an indictment against 9 impeachment hearings began before the Oakway High. With four returning let- former aides. House Judiciary Committee. termen, Johnny Tyrer ’75, and juniors Sola Mahoney, Mike Silberman, and Will Spring term at Asheville School almost At commencement exercises on June 1, Callison, the cross-country team had high always brings renewed spirit and energy. Doug Byrd delivered the valedictory, and hopes for its season. Unfortunately, Ben 28 Achievement • Spring 2018 Butch Gudger offered the salutatory. In Lippen spoiled the season opener for the Blues, 18-42. The field hockey team faced a full varsity schedule, and the girls were Perhaps the most pivotal play of the game eligible for varsity letters. The fall season occurred in the first quarter, when, on a also marked the twentieth anniversary of Greenie fourth and goal from the one-and- the mountaineering program. On October a-half yard line, George Dailey and Mike 3, 1954, Pop Hollandsworth had taken a Alley stuffed Christ School running back group of Asheville School students and Herb Butler for a four-yard loss to preserve faculty members on the school’s first of- the lead. A Geyer Longenecker punt to the ficial mountaineering trip. He marked the Christ School one-yard-line changed field occasion with a trip on the same weekend position, and Mike Alley and Bobby Lal- in the fall of 1974 (The Ashnoca October 5, ley ’76 victimized Butler once more, this 1974, pp. 1, 3). time in the end zone for a safety. The half ended with the Blues up 5-0 (The Ashnoca As the fall moved along, the students were November 23, 1974, p. 3). treated to two Required Cultures. The first evening featured Ida, a tame timberwolf. The game turned on a Blues’ punt in David Gumpert from the North American the third quarter. Darryl Pressley hit the Predatory Animal Center spoke to dimin- Greenies’ punt returner and forced a ish the negative perception of wolves as fumble that Keith Bishop recovered on predators. Three weeks later, classical gui- the Christ School 27. It took no time for tarist Charles Stein performed variations the Blues to take advantage of the break. of the works of Mozart and Handel, as well Nick Huskey broke loose through a gaping Nick Huskey enroute to end zone during the 1974 as a piece by Bach (The Ashnoca November hole in the Greenie defense and bolted 27 Christ School game. The Blues ran out the clock in the 11-6 victory. 9, 1974, p. 1). yards for a touchdown. The extra point failed, but the Blues now led 11-0. Late me with a memory that will always be Halloween arrived with Gross Tie Night, in the game, a 50-yard Longenecker punt cherished” (The Ashnoca November 23, and fall sports teams were concluding their pinned the Greenies on their own five. 1974, pp. 2, 3). seasons. The field hockey team sat at 3-3-1 Although he had been contained all day, with two games to play. The cross-country Butler finally broke a 50-yard run and set November 1974 was a mid-term election team ran its record to 11-4 after Andrew up a touchdown. The two point conver- year. For this first election since Nixon’s Potts ’76 set a course record. Three days sion failed, and the Blues ran out the clock resignation and Ford’s pardon of him, the later, the Blues beat Christ School for vic- to secure the 11-6 victory (The Ashnoca energy crisis and high inflation were major tory number 12 as Sola Mahoney bettered November 23, 1974, p. 3). issues. Predictably, the Democrats gained Andrew Potts’ record by 3 seconds. The J.V. many seats in the House and added four football team salvaged its winless season Two sets of numbers could define the 1974 Senate seats; they won four additional by tying Christ School in the season finale. football team: 3-5 and 11-6. Yes, the team governorships in state elections. The varsity football team found itself with was 3-5 and had a losing record, so in that a 2-5 record as The Game approached. sense, the season was a disappointment, With a new gym and successful teams, maybe even a failure. 11-6, though. The sports highlighted the winter term. By By the fall of 1974, the game had been winning score as underdogs over your mid-January, all teams were undefeated, played on a yearly basis since 1933. Always arch-rival in the final football game the se- having compiled a record of 21-0-1. That well attended, the game in 1974 had a spe- niors would ever play. No disappointment; record included a 76-48 basketball win cial buzz because of the seventy-fifth an- no failed season. That is the number the over Asheville Country Day in the team’s niversary year; in addition to coaches and players will always remember. Ben Horsfall first game in the new athletic facility. Jeff players, some alumni spoke at the Friday commented afterwards: “As a senior, the Benedict led the way with 19 points. In the night bonfire and pep rally. Despite the game meant a lot to me. The victory meant second game in the new gym against the 2-5 record and being distinct underdogs, even more. I have rarely been as happy or Greenies, Wayne Garrish scored 18 points the Blues were confident at kickoff time. as satisfied as I was in the closing moments and Jeff Benedict grabbed 14 rebounds There were heroes aplenty that day. Senior of the game – and we were supposedly un- as the Blues crushed Christ School 68-38. Woody Bolinger gained 23 yards on a fake derdogs…. That sense of accomplishment The new athletic center also housed a new punt to set up a Bobby Durrah field goal of was and always will be one of my most 27 yards to give Asheville a 3-0 lead. enjoyable experiences. The game provided Achievement • Spring 2018 29 Continuing with the momentum from the fall and winter, the spring teams began their seasons well. On consecutive days, the baseball team used Ken Partin’s ‘76 strong pitching and timely homerun to defeat Charlotte Country Day, and relied on three pitchers – Dan Dixon ’75, Scott Gillespie ’77, in addition to Partin – to combine for 12 strikeouts in a 7-6 win over Asheville Country Day. The boys’ tennis squad split its first two matches. A new gym and pool were ready for use in January of 1975. The facility was dedicated as the Rodgers Athletic Center on April 25, 1981. Returning MVP Tom Hofbauer ’76 helped the golfers in a three-way match, losing to Christ Church Episcopal, but beating swimming pool, which was not quite ready school’s history…. Because of this very Christ School. The girls began their tennis after the Christmas break.The disappoint- successful sports season, the atmosphere season with a win over Asheville High (The ment provided a ceremonial moment after of the school has been much more relaxed Ashnoca April 19, 1975, p. 3). a Friday practice in mid-January, when than in years past.... The people who come senior Karl Schmid turned off the pump in to the games cannot be classified as mere In the spring of 1975, one of the more the old pool for its last time. The follow- spectators, because they are all so enthusi- memorable chapel speakers, James T. ing Monday, the Blues began practicing in astically involved in the action…. One can Cleland, Dean of the Duke University the new facility (The Ashnoca February 1, notice the true enjoyment of the students chapel, spoke for two Sunday sermons and 1975, p. 3). if he looks at the cheerleaders in action two weekly chapels, as well as teaching at the games” (The Ashnoca March 10 a religion class one day during his short The 1974-75 school year marked the first 1975, p. 3). No winter blahs, enthusiastic stay on campus. 1975 marked the thirtieth time Asheville School participated in involvement, true enjoyment, and a year consecutive year of his visits to Asheville an exchange with the English-Speaking that was definitely different in degree from School. Students always looked forward Union. Field Coxe ’74 began attending the previous year. Still, the end of the to his visits and enjoyed his good humor Cranleigh School in England in September, winter term and the arrival of spring were and Scottish lilt as he taught classes and and Gavin Thompson, a native of Lon- no less welcomed by the students than in presented his homilies and sermons (The don, came to Asheville School in Janu- any other year. Ashnoca May 10, 1975, p. 1). ary. Gavin “thinks that Asheville School is very challenging but somewhat more The spring term began with exciting news Spring brought the yearly changing of formal than English schools” (The Ashnoca in the academic area. Tom Giduz won a the guard. Mike Silberman was named February 1, 1975, p. 1). There were two Morehead Scholarship, Darryl Pressley editor of the 1976 Blue and White. An- Required Cultures in January: a one-man won a four-year scholarship from the Na- drew Potts would assist him as associate show portraying Edgar Allan Poe, and the tional Achievement Scholarship commit- editor-in-chief, while Jennifer Goodman Berea Country Dancers from Berea Col- tee, and Peter Wright was finalist for the ’77 would be copy editor. Student Council lege. The school selected Keith Bishop and National Merit Scholarship. The seniors elections made John Kirsten president, Tom Giduz as its Morehead nominees (The returned from break to enjoy new privi- Mark Ebert vice president, and John Logan Ashnoca February 1, 1975, pp. 1, 4). leges. The faculty also tried to address the ’77 secretary-treasurer. Jim Clarke was time and schedule pressures with several appointed editor-in-chief for The Ashnoca, In a March 1975 sports column, David changes to daily schedules by moving proj- and Brooks Mayberry managing editor Stover wrote, “Although the thermostats ects to Monday and starting them later, re- (The Ashnoca April 19, 1975, p. 1 and The have been set back to sixty-eight degrees, it ducing required weekly chapels to Monday Ashnoca May 10, 1975, p. 1). has been a very warm and friendly winter and Friday, extending the break between at Asheville School since our football fourth and fifth period classes, and adding On the weekend of May 24-25, the school victory over Christ School. This victory 15 minutes between the end of dinner and celebrated its 75th anniversary. Satur- seemed to set the scene for one of the most the start of study hall (The Ashnoca April day featured a number of special events, productive winter sports seasons of the 19, 1975, p. 1). including presentation of Awards of Merit, 30 Achievement • Spring 2018 a baseball game against Christ School, an anniversary banquet in the new athletic and had been cutting up a good deal. Well, only different, or was it not even the same center, and on Sunday, a chapel service led when somebody threw a firecracker out thing? The answer to that may depend on by Rev. Robert Hudnut ’52. the window during study hall, that did it. whether one thinks that any “particles of worth had been pinked.” “An anniversary celebration is a kind of Mr. Tyrer came storming up on the hall, ceremonial ‘self-gratulation.’ The institu- raving mad. After lecturing us at length, he Whether from the 1940’s, 1980’s, or early tion gathers its members, as many as it can, told us we could be one of the finest classes 2000’s, when alumni/ae come back to cam- and altogether they reach out for hands ever. He told us we would be the 75th pus, they often ask “Do you still do/have and sing, ‘We are still here! And wasn’t it graduating class, and that we should begin _____?” “Is ______still teaching?” “Is grand?’ … In its own degree as a secular to mold our class into one which would be the lake still there?” “Do students still wait foundation, a school might proclaim, as successful and as significant as the year tables?” There is a part of all of us that somewhat as the Church does: ‘The gates itself … That night we began to dream of wants the school to be what it was when of Hell shall not prevail.’ The bureaucrats what it would be like to be seniors, lead- we attended. That gives us a connection shall not break through and steal… Per- ers. We began to make up our minds that with our youth and perhaps helps us feel manent values, the unchanging things, can the Class of ’`75 would in fact be one of younger than we are. The reality is that be preserved only by a perpetual duel of the best classes ever” (The Ashnoca June much as we might like to think other- compromise in which no ‘particle of real 7, 1975, p. 2). About 20 minutes later, the wise, we all know that the one constant worth is ever pinked’ ” (Franklin Butler in class received their diplomas and joined in life is change. Those who remember The Ashnoca May 23, 1975, p. 3). the alumni ranks as the 75th class to do so. the swimming pool in the George Perkins Raymond gymnasium would have a hard “Seventy-five years is a lifetime… Now In public Mr. Tyrer would no doubt say time convincing post-1975 graduates on the brink of its renaissance, in remem- that he wished the firecracker had never that that facility was better than today’s bering its old life, Asheville begins a new been thrown. As he listened to Giduz’s Ambler Pool. Those who waited tables at one. There are the students of ’75 who speech, however, did he perhaps think seated breakfast could not convince “buffet see the school as it was and as it is; Mr. that the seeds for the 1974 football victory breakfast” alumni/ae that they had missed Butler’s unpinkable things that cannot be over Christ School were planted during a an essential Asheville School experience. changed… The students, however, have silly prank a couple of years earlier? That The list could go on and on. not really changed. We still have senior prank and Mr. Tyrer’s lecture may have pranks and get psyched up for the Christ laid the foundation for a seventy-fifth The school in 1975 was different from the School football game. We study pretty anniversary celebration that united the school in 1900, just as the school in 2018 much and complain about the work. If school at a time when it needed it most. is different from the school in 1975. We Charles Andrews Mitchell and Newton may not agree on whether the differences Mitchell Anderson were able to see Ashe- In its first seventy-five years, Asheville are of degree or kind. We may or may not ville today, they would be pleased – no School saw the automobile and television agree that it is a better school today, but we particle of real worth has been pinked” come of age, two world wars, the “Roaring would all agree it is different, and I would (Darryl Pressley in The Ashnoca May 23, Twenties,” a serious economic depression, say, “Vive la difference.” 1975, p. 3). It was obvious from the way the beginning of the Nuclear Age and start the participants celebrated that weekend, of the Cold War, the Korean War, the dawn that the Founders wouldn’t have been of the Space Age with Sputnik and then alone in being pleased with Asheville man on the moon, and the great social School in May of 1975. unrest of the civil rights movement, the youth movement, and the Vietnam War. The Christ School football game did much Those events are simply the skeleton of the to shape the 1974-75 school year and the century’s first 75 years; many more events class of ’75’s senior year. However, in his would put flesh on the bones. valedictory address on commencement day, Tom Giduz recalled a story from his Was Asheville School in 1975 the same sophomore year. “One of the most memo- institution it was in 1900? Of course not. rable evenings that whole year was two It was a much different place, but were Carol Emmet is the first girl to graduate from Asheville School. days before final exams. The whole week those differences in degree or in kind? before, we had been feeling pretty rowdy Was Asheville School the same thing, Achievement • Spring 2018 31 Raising Expectations on Carter Court

By Alex Hill Staff Writer

“Win or lose, no matter how good a team is, we’re going to compete as hard as we can.”

This declaration from junior Major Eason was featured in a February article by Tom Flynn for the Asheville Citizen-Times, “Asheville School Basketball Players Blend- ing Intelligence, Toughness.”

In the article, Flynn chronicled a game between the Blues and Carolinas Athletic Association conference opponent Asheville Christian Academy.

While the Blues didn’t carry the game, they gave a valiant effort.

Flynn wrote that junior Titus Morrison showed his grit when, at the end of the game with the Blues trailing, he drew an offensive foul. Flynn quotes Morrison: “We were down and could just let him get a lay-up. That’s something we have ongoing Fifth former Titus Morrison drives to the basket. in practice, where we ask, ‘Who’s going to take the charge?’ I knew I couldn’t block “We want our athletes to have a really good opportunities to develop their skills and the shot, so I just stopped, and he hit me.” experience,” Boland says. “We want them come together as a team during the off- to be proud of what they accomplished season through work both on campus This determination, stick-to-itiveness, and on the court. We want them to remember and during team camps over the summer optimism are key components to a culture these experiences 20 years from now.” break. change in the Blues basketball program spearheaded by Athletic Director and Head “This takes everybody: coaches, assistant “We are seeing the difference,” Boland says. Boys Varsity Coach Carl Boland 1999. coaches, managers, and the last guy on the This season, Boys Varsity earned a 14-9 bench. We have to get everybody to buy record: the most wins since the 2005-06 Boland says it’s all about raising levels of in.” season. expectation and commitment for both the coaches and players. “From the school’s This year the athletic department ex- The Blues won a conference game for perspective, that means providing oppor- panded a comprehensive strength and con- the first time in five years, taking down tunities and support for our athletes,” he ditioning program in which every varsity not once but twice says. “From the students’ perspective, that athlete is expected to participate. Athletes this season. means training, practicing hard, and really work with trainers and keep up their being present and showing up for each work-out plans over school breaks. The girls varsity team had its best season other.” since the 2008-09 year with a record of In addition, athletes from the boys and 8-13. 32 Achievement • Spring 2018 girls varsity basketball teams have more “Our teams are learning what it is like to would have been easy to give in to that “All the coaches continue to realize the win,” Boland says. “You can build on that. pressure. But our guys didn’t do that. They extent of the legacy of last year’s seniors,” Our players are learning what it takes, and came out and took control of that game in he says. “Rashad Morrison and Moss if you win consistently, it becomes addic- the second half, and we won it.” Rerkpattanapipat had their third head tive.” coach in four years and had a streak of Later in the season, the Blues beat the same losing seasons. But they bought in imme- Boland says that players build off these team handily. “We were able to build off diately and helped the whole team buy in wins because they learn how hard they that first win,” Boland says. “That’s where to us as coaches. They really enabled us to have to push through, both physically and this confidence piece comes in. You get hit the ground running, and we wouldn’t mentally, to carry a close game. Athletes momentum, and then you focus on con- have done so well this year without their realize they have to practice harder and sistency. We were very competitive in other extraordinary commitment and example.” smarter by focusing on developing their conference games throughout the season.” basketball skill as well as their mental Boland is excited to continue this growth acuity. Building a program back up takes time, in the 2018-19 season. “Having a win- and Boland thanked the team leaders from ning season makes a huge difference,” he During the boys’ first conference win, the the class of 2017 for their help in accelerat- says. “You can hold your head high and Blues were down 12 points at half time. ing the process. be proud of that. We are ready to practice “We could have easily said, ‘Oh, here we better, train better and play better. Now we go again,’ and given up,” Boland says. “It can really raise the bar.”

Fifth former Major Eason helped the Blues find success on the court Counti McCutchen was a sixth form leader on the girls’ basketball team. this season. Achievement • Spring 2018 33 with documentary production (https:// ahha.radiohistory.net) and stays involved with WRCR through an active group of radio station alumni. He also produces an occasional podcast for Rockford College Radio.

1968

Parkin Hunter Parkin writes: “Still practicing law, living the dream and resisting.”

Pictured from left to right: Head of School Arch Montgomery, Ambassador James Hormel 1950, Assistant Head of School for Advancement Daniel Seiden, and Director of Alumni Relations Burt Gordon 1986

1950 1967

Ambassador James Hormel Ross Hunter While in California for two alumni events, Ross let us know that he retired on we met with Ambassador Jim Hormel October 1, 2017. He moved to Orange, 1971 1950 at his office in San Francisco. The VA, shortly after his graduation from ambassador was last on campus on Rockford College in 1971. He worked at Bill Garten April 28, 2016, as the keynote speaker at the local radio station, WJMA, until 1986. Bill is pleased to relate that he has won the Founders’ Day convocation during At the time he left several literary awards in recent months. Alumni Weekend. radio, Ross was the He has published six books of poetry station’s operations including “The Last Woman,” which 1959 manager. has “raw, compelling, and pleasurable In 1986, he and a poems...clever, original moments (that) gleam in the sparse stanzas ...” – Kirkus Steve Callendar business partner Reviews. Steve writes: “Fun news of my daughter, began Dominion Elsa Sinclair’s, short film, Taming Wild. It Market Research, a Bill’s chapbook, “Asphalt Heart,” is a final- just won the ‘Audience Award for Favorite mailing company ist in The Comstock Review’s 2017 Jessie Short Feature’ at the Napa Film Festival. serving primarily Bryce Niles Chapbook Contest. You can see the trailer at www.taming- educational institutions and non-profits. wild.com.” Dominion Market Research was recently sold to a large printing company in Char- Bill won the 2017 Broken Ribbon Poetry 34 Achievement • Spring 2018 lottesville. Ross continues to be active Contest, is a finalist in the 2018 Tucson Festival of Books Literary Awards for Poetry, and is a finalist in the 44th New Millennium 2017 Awards.

He has published poetry in Rattle, Asheville Poetry Review, Hawaii Review, Portland Review, Laurel Review, Birming- ham Poetry Review, Wisconsin Review and others. He is a graduate student in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Ashland University and has completed all his course work; he presents his final thesis this year. He won the Emerson Prize for Poetry and the Margaret Ward Martin Prize for Creative Writing. He has also been anthologized in What The Mountains Yield; And Now The Magpie; and Wild Sweet Notes. Keep up with Bill at www.billgarten.net or @billgartenpoet on Twitter.

William Sanford Benbow 1972 is pictured with his neighbor, Julia Praytor, director of the kitchen at

1972 Asheville School for 14 years. She recalled when Mrs. Hollandsworth William Sanford Benbow couldn’t make it up Asheville School Road 1975 William wrote to us of a newly discovered in the snow because the car would slide Asheville School connection: in the snow and how she had to abandon Keith Bishop “Well, what a small world! the car with her friend and trudge up the Keith is pleased to report that his son, snowy road in their high-heel shoes. Paul, recently received a Master of Arts I moved into an assisted living commu- degree in Communications Disorders nity apartment beside a lovely 97-year-old Tonight, I showed her pictures of the from California State University - Fuller- lady, Julia Praytor. I grilled chicken and school. She said they gave her an Ashe- ton. Keith, Paul and Paul’s wife, Alejandra, Conecuh dogs for her for months. She ville School chair when she left; I told her enjoyed a quick trip to Oslo, Norway, in gave me homemade trail mix in return. I purchased an Asheville School rock- February and visited in March for ing chair after I left. I took my Asheville the Grand Sumo Tournament. After several months, she told me she School blazer made by Hunter and Cog- ran the kitchen at Asheville School for 14 gins and showed it to her and she smiled years. She said my name sounded famil- so wide. iar. I was only there for three years and she arrived in the winter of 1972, three Oh, what a great time we had talking months after I had left. about Asheville School: shredded wheat and applesauce, and what a wonderful I regretted to inform her that Jack Tyrer experience it was to be there. had died. She was very taken aback and said that she loved Jack very much. How lucky we are... and to realize it after living next to each other for months.” A sparkle came to her eyes as she men- tioned Pop Hollandsworth and his wife, Mr. Ornduff (I still remember his won- derful quotes that he would put up on the chalkboard), Jim Hollandsworth, Mr. Bromley, Mr. Verduin, Chuck Carter, and Achievement • Spring 2018 35 so, so many more. 1979

Jennifer Sherman Jennifer is in her 25th year at Saint James School in Maryland. In addition to teach- ing two sections of upper level Spanish and serving as the school’s librarian, Jennifer has added a new responsibil- ity this year: Dean of Faculty. Jennifer Todd Grosshandler 1982, Tommy Shores 1985, and Burt Gordon 1986 is looking forward to coming back to campus for her 40th reunion in the spring of 2019. 1986 Geoffrey Jenkins 1982 Geoff Jenkins 1986 and his wife, Andra, welcomed Todd Grosshandler Caspar Davis It pays to wear your Asheville School blue! Jenkins on Tommy Shores 1985 and Burt Gordon December 14. Joe Rainero 1986 were in the stands at the Greensboro Congratu- Joe was a fast swimmer under the coach- Aquatic Center watching the Blues swim lations to ing of Chase Ambler 1950, and he has team compete in the NCISAA state swim the Jenkins continued his training and now competes meet. Who should sit down but another family! in the US Masters Swimming program Blue, Todd Grosshandler 1982. It was a fun in South Carolina. Joe recently competed morning of reminiscing about the ‘80s at in a Masters swim meet in Columbia. In Asheville School! the 50-54 age group, Joe swam a 100-but- terfly in 1:06.94. Way to go, Joe! 1985

José Gonzalez José, a current Asheville School trustee, was appointed Mexico’s Minister of Finance in November.

Pictured here are Peter Hancock 1985, Burt Gordon 1986, Jim Campbell 1986, and Tommy Shores 1985.

Tommy Shores 1985 loves to get folks together to talk about Asheville School! He and his wife, Rachael LeClair, hosted a small dinner party for some Blues in Hickory, NC, and Burt Gordon 1986 was invited as he was traveling to Greensboro.

It was a fun evening of reconnecting with old friends! Early the next morning, Tommy and Burt headed out to 36 Achievement • Spring 2018 Greensboro to see Tommy’s daughter and 24 other swimmers represent Asheville School in the NCISAA state swim meet. 1987 1996

Kiki Morosani Tucker Branham Kiki, who works at Carol L. King & Asso- Tucker became the proud mother of Miles ciates in Asheville, wrote “Taking Care of “Bowman” Lambeth on December 9. Your Employees,” which appeared in the Tucker lives in Charleston, where she is not January 2018 issue of Capital at Play. You only busy can read her article online (http://www. as a new capitalatplay.com/taking-care-employees). mother, but she is also working 1990 for a new marketing Clay Smith firm and Associate Head of School Jay Bonner Zeke Jordan 2004 continues his travels around the pursuing a world. His most recent trip took him to Singa- recently went to London, where he met up doctoral degree in education. Congratula- pore, where he met up with Kevin Seo 2006. Zeke with Clay Smith 1990 in a pub for some tions to Tucker and family! says, “They don’t call him the Singapore Sling literary culture. for nothin’!” It was a fun evening of laughs and catching up. 2002 2005 Chris Boehner Daryl Brown Chris married Daryl was recently selected as one of the Angela Faison “world’s most 100 inspiring MBA stu- on dents,” and he participated in the World September 20, Summit which was held this year in Cape 2017, at The Town, South Africa. Daryl graduated on Rye Patch in April 27, 2018, from Michigan’s Ross Aiken, SC. School of Business, and he has accepted a Read more position with DOW/Chemical. about their Read more about Daryl and his recent wedding accomplishment at https://michiganross. online (www. umich.edu/ross-news-blog/2018/02/26/ aikenstandard.com). five-michigan-ross-students-named- among-world-s-100-most-inspiring-mbas. Hyung Duk Kim Hyung Duk hosted this year’s New York Mini Reunion City alumni gathering at The Standard Hotel. It was a huge success with alumni who ranged from the classes of 1957 to 2014. The extended Blues family was well represented with several parents and three prospective families in attendance. It was a fun night in the Big Apple!

Many alumni returned to support the Blues at the annual football game against Christ School. Pictured are Will Ballance 2004, Ali Ballance 2005, Rick Martin, Dean of Students Mary Elizabeth Where in the world is Jay?! Associate Head of School Martin, Jane Beebe Jones 2005, Director of Alumni Jay Bonner continues his tour of London. Pictured Relations Burt Gordon 1986, and Rachel Reyes 2005. here are Adam Burton 1994, Jay Bonner, Toby Lomax 1999, and Jess Bayer. Achievement • Spring 2018 37 that she separated from the Air Force Reserves in 2017 and now works for the federal government near Washington, D.C. 2008 Emily Barnhardt Emily is currently working as a train- ing specialist in Human Resources at a manufacturing company and is in school to pursue a career in Social Psychol- ogy. She spends the majority of her free Pictured (l to r) are Austin Bell 2006, Sarah Jane Kline 2017, Olivia Ostlund 2015, Niara Webb 2016, Jeffrey time involved in volunteer organiza- Peng 2017 and Eli Abernethy 2015. Chris Amoroso 2017 was also present for the meeting, but he had to rush tions working with survivors of human off to class before this picture was taken. trafficking, people dealing with grief and loss, and suicide prevention efforts. She Wei “Angela” Tchou is an award-winning writer and has been 2006 While Associate Head of School Jay Bon- published in three books on bereavement. Austin Bell ner was in for the alumni She is looking forward to a summer in- Austin (Davidson 2010) had the great gathering, he grabbed lunch at Katz’s Deli ternship doing victim advocacy work and pleasure of meeting up with some of the and then met Wei at her office. It was fun case management services with human Asheville School Blues who are current for these two to reconnect! trafficking survivors. Davidson College students.

Maddy Gale Maddy and Director of Alumni Relations Burt Gordon 1986 met up for a delicious breakfast at Café St. Jorge while Burt was in San Francisco in October. Maddy is as busy as ever and enjoying life in the Bay area. She says “hello” to all of her Blues friends! Nancy VanNoppen Nancy recently joined VanNoppen Marketing as Managing Director and lead front-end web designer to oversee project flow and prioritization, and creative 2007 direction for web- and internet-related Elizabeth McMillan Holleman work. You can read more about Nancy Congratulations to Elizabeth and Asa, and her new position online (https:// who welcomed their second child, Char- www.vannoppen.co). lotte Rose, in 2012 February 2018. Helen “Davie” Boone Elizabeth, Asa, Davie recently graduated from the Madison, and University of Alabama. Charlotte Rose Davie writes: “For the first half of 2017, recently moved I’m living in Tuscaloosa working as the to Culpeper, VA. 38 Achievement • Spring 2018 Elizabeth reports Wrestling Championship hosted by The 2009 Citadel. Conor, a Davidson College soph- omore, finished third and earned team Kate Evans Snelling honors for highest conference finish, most While Kate was in town visiting with her wins, and most pins during the season. parents for a few days, she came out to As a quiet tribute to his high school alma campus to catch some Blues basketball mater, Conor continues to wear the well- and caught up with a number of people. worn blue knee pads that he wore in every Before leaving, Kate wanted to make sure match at Asheville School. her name was still on the wall! Go, Kate! Go, Blues! Join us in wishing Conor congratulations! Marissa is always happy to return to Crimson Tide country! Austin Letson and Samuel Goldstein “Friends, bound together by White and Blue.” Austin and Samuel continue to 2013 pursue their love of running at their respective universities, and every once in Jack Qualey a while, they get the chance to compete Jack completed hiking the entire Appala- against one another. Go Blues! chian Trail on September 30, 2017. Jack and two close friends spent four months on the 2,200-mile trail. After the trip, he returned home to work at his family’s Bluffton, SC, General Store for a couple of

2010 months before moving back to Asheville in order to pursue his passion and work Ivy Givens in outdoor education. Ivy has moved from Senatobia, MS, to Manhattan. She was an avid reader in American Studies, and that love of read- 2015 Katie Thompson and David Schill ing suits her well in her work at a publish- When the Centre Colonels met the ing house. Paige Burgess Sewanee Tigers on the gridiron last Paige was recently elected social chair for fall, David, a defensive back for Centre, the Pre-Dental Society at the University contributed to his team’s big win. While of Texas at San Antonio. She is looking on the Sewanee campus, David enjoyed a forward to planning fun events for the visit with his Asheville School classmate, organization’s 100-plus members. Katie, a sophomore at Sewanee.

John Galusha Emma Van Wynen John, a student at Bowdoin College, Emma took a weekend off from her recently traveled to New York City to studies at Tulane University to return to compete in the 8th Annual American Asheville for Beatbox Championships. He was featured a visit. She 2012 on Bowdoin College’s website: http:// carved out community.bowdoin.edu/news/ time to meet Marissa Wolf up for coffee Marissa caught up with Director of Alum- with her for- ni Relations Burt Gordon 1986 before the 2016 mer advisor, Bama-LSU game last fall. She is enjoying Jay Bonner. living in Birmingham and using her civil Conor Fenn engineering degree as a project manager On March 3, Conor earned a place on the Achievement • Spring 2018 39 at a general contracting firm. podium at the 2018 Southern Conference Blues Events in 2017 - 18

Lexington, KY Event

Pictured here are Director of Alumni Relations Burt Gordon 1986, Savannah Engel 2005, Leigh Baugham Hickory, NC Event 2005, Conner Hayes 2005, Louisa Peyronnin 2005, Associate Head of School Jay Bonner, and Mary Pictured: Assistant Director of Admission Anna Ranson 2010, Tommy Grace Hinkle 2005. Shores 1985, Director of Alumni Relations Burt Gordon 1986, and John Russell 1985. Mary Grace Hinkle 2005 and her extended family were hosts-extraordinaire for a fun-filled day at Tommy Shores 1985 and his wife, Rachel LeClair, hosted a fun reception Keeneland in Lexington, KY, on Saturday, October 21. at their home in Hickory on Thursday, November 9, for area alumni, Forty-five alumni, parents, and friends enjoyed parents and grandparents, and prospective families. It was a wonderful reconnecting and learning more about Asheville School. evening connecting with Blues who spanned years from 1952 to 2021. Other hosts for this event were Anne Archer Hinkle 2008, Tom Hinkle 1975 (father of Anne Archer), Joy Hinkle (mother of Mary Grace), Bill 1964 and Linda Francis, Jennifer Czubak 2008, and Mary and Andy Czubak (parents of Jennifer).

Los Angeles Event

This group of Blues enjoyed a wonderful evening at the Los Angeles Pictured here with these two Blues is Edward Rogers, gathering, hosted by Carlos Smith 1984. the son of Arthur Rogers 1988. Edward was in town to visit his cousins. Pictured are Mussie Assefaw 2001, Richard Katzberg 2001, Lissa Clarke 2009, Assistant Head of School for Advancement Dan Seiden, J.C. Guest Legacies abound this year! There are 19 current 2007, Director of Alumni Relations Burt Gordon 1986, and JungBok Lee students who are children of alumni. Michael and 2016. his sister, Anna, are the children of Michael Rogers 1990.

Help the Blues grow! Our team in the Admission Office would love to hear from more alumni about having children and grandchildren follow in their footsteps. ([email protected]) 40 Achievement • Spring 2018 Alumni Profile: Grace Raynor 2011 Named South Carolina Sportswriter of the Year

In January 2018, Grace Raynor was one of two reporters named South Carolina Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. She works as a journalist covering Clemson sports for The Post and Courier, a newspaper based in Charleston, South Carolina.

Raynor graduated from Asheville School in 2011 and went to the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill that fall. As soon as she started at UNC, Raynor added to her bucket list seeing the Tar Heels face off against the Blue Devils in both UNC’s Dean Dome and Duke University’s Cameron Stadium.

Raynor knew she’d have to get creative to get tickets to those games before she graduated. She decided her best bet would order to share a meaningful story. “I think plays, on sincere moments with his family be to go for a press pass. in sports we idolize our favorite teams and and on what motivates him both on and favorite leaders and sometimes we forget off the field. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to major they’re humans just like us,” she says. “We in,” Raynor recalls. “I figured the best way forget that Dabo Swinney also loves Hal- “My favorite stories I’ve ever done have to weasel my way into Cameron Indoor loween and ‘How the Grinch Stole Christ- been the ones that have more to do with Stadium for a Tar Heels – Blue Devils mas.’ Or that the star quarterback also the personal side,” Raynor says. “We see game would be to write for UNC’s student gets flat tires every now and then, just like all of these people on television and we newspaper.” She applied to work for that us. I love getting to see what makes these know what they’re capable of athletically, newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel, that year. athletes tick, who inspires them and what but what drives them in their personal their lives are like beyond just the football life? That’s what I love. That’s what I look Working for The Daily Tar Heel turned field or the basketball court.” forward to every day.” into a labor of love. “As I started writing articles, I found that I was attracted to That pull to listen to, understand, and When Raynor learned she was named the idea of storytelling and the style of personalize the athletes she interviews South Carolina Sportswriter of the Year, newspaper writing. Having played sports is evident in Raynor’s work. In her April the first thing she did was call her dad, all my life, I found something about sports 2017 article, ‘Soon to be an NFL million- whom she calls the biggest cheerleader in journalism in particular that struck a aire, Deshaun Watson will never forget her career. “I was instantly shocked and chord. I explored so many other options at the small Georgia town that raised him,’ infinitely grateful,” she says. “We just took UNC, but the one I always kept going back Raynor explores Gainesville, Georgia. She a few minutes to really digest it together to was journalism.” meets the people and seeks to grasp the and have a fun little celebration over the factors that nurtured Houston quarterback phone. For Raynor, sharing a personal, intimate Deshaun Watson when he was growing side of the people she writes about is key up. In an article about Clemson standout “Every journalist will tell you that we don’t to her work. She loves getting to know Hunter Renfrow, Raynor focuses, instead do our craft for awards, but to win this the athletes and coaches she interviews in of just on his impressive stats and major Achievement • Spring 2018 41 one was such an honor and something I will remember forever. I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am for all of the incredible mentors I’ve had—and that includes teachers at Asheville School—who have helped me along the way. That the National Sports Media Association gave me this is a testament to all the amazing people in my life and all the wonderful help I’ve had.”

Raynor lives in Greenville, South Carolina, and likes to go hiking on nearby trails in her off-season. She volunteers with middle school students through her church, and since 2015 has held two internships with MLB.com that took her to the clubhouses of the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees.

In 2017, she traveled back to Asheville School to talk to current students interested in learning more about journalism. She was excited to share her profession with others and encouraged them to think about journalism as a gratifying career. “I think what students need to know is that there will always, always, always be a need and a want for good writ- ing and reporting,” Raynor says. “Whether those stories appear in a newspaper or on the internet is still up in the air, as the industry is certainly experiencing a time of change. But the need for news and entertainment is never going to go away.”

Raynor is passionate about her work, and she plans to continue honing her craft and focusing on the people whose athletic careers we follow week after week. “In my opinion, the best, most inspiring stories are oftentimes sports stories,” she says. “There is power in storytelling and power in making fans feel like they are personally connected to the athletes they love.”

42 Achievement • Spring 2018 Asheville School Grads Come Into Their Own as College Athletes

By Alex Hill Staff Writer

Rashad Morrison 2017 and David Schill 2016 were stand out athletes during their time at Asheville School. They both served as team captains for the varsity football team and earned the Valier Award in Foot- ball and the David R Millard, Jr. Award for Best Male Athlete during their senior years.

Morrison and Schill followed their passion for football into college. In 2016, Schill committed to Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. In 2017, Morrison committed to play for Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Today, the former teammates are thriving at the next level.

Schill plays both defensive back and special teams for the Centre Colonels, and as a David Schill 2016, a defensive back for Centre College, enjoyed a visit with Asheville School classmate sophomore, filled in as a starter towards Katie Thompson 2016 after a recent game at Sewanee. the end of the season. able to put myself in the right place at back he was throwing the ball into a tight the right time as the game wound down. pocket on the sideline. I caught it at 12 “Personally, this season was the best of I was able to break up two goal-line pass yards, picking up the first down. That put my career so far,” Schill says. “We went attempts on third and fourth downs late in us in the perfect position for a QB sneak 9-1 with our only loss going to Berry the fourth quarter to help seal the victory.” two plays later to score the winning touch- College—that loss was brutal, as it took down.” our postseason destiny out of our hands, As a freshman wide receiver, Morrison and all we could do was play our best ball played in eight of Williams’ nine games. Asheville School Head Football Coach Gus each week and see where we ended up in Coming off the bench, he earned 206 all- Schill—who happens to be David Schill’s the end. It was impressive to see the team purpose yards and helped Williams win father—has loved following their college rally and fight and win out the rest of our against rival Amherst College in a crucial careers. season, despite having slim hopes of a play during their homecoming game. postseason.” “It was a great thrill to follow David and “It was third and ten during OT,” recalls Rashad as they played on Saturdays this Schill finished the season with 20 tack- Morrison. “Our play-callers signaled a past fall,” he says. “It was great to coach les and three breakups. He says his most play that we had run a few times already. their younger brothers, Titus Morrison memorable moment came during his I was not a primary target on this play. and J.P. Schill, and then follow David and game against Millsaps. The ball was snapped, and I ran my route Rashad via the web on the next day.” hard, fully expecting the play to go away “After a pretty rough first half, including from my side. However, our quarterback a missed tackle and blown coverage, I was was forced to scramble, and when I looked Achievement • Spring 2018 43 Not only will you enjoy your time at Ashe- ville School more, you will also gain the important skill of balance which will serve you well in college and beyond.”

David Schill agrees that current students should see Asheville School’s challenging schedule as an opportunity: “When you graduate from Asheville School, you are prepared for college in numerous ways that your peers from other schools simply will not be,” he says. “My advice is to make full use of all that you gained athletically, academically, and socially.”

Both Morrison and Schill look forward to next season as they continue to practice and hone their sport. Schill is recovering from shoulder surgery, but he plans to focus on recovery before the beginning of the 2018 season. Morrison plans to major in economics with a concentration in global studies, and Schill plans to major in environmental science.

Schill serves in an executive position in his fraternity, Phi Delta Theta, and Morrison Rashad Morrison 2017 enjoys playing football at Williams College. As a freshman wide receiver, is active in The Society of the Griffins, a Morrison played in eight of Williams’ nine games. student organization at Williams that sup- ports young men of color in academic and Gus Schill says it is no surprise that these “This has been one of the most intense professional endeavors. young men are excelling at the college lev- experiences in my life,” Morrison says. “I el. “They each have an extremely competi- go pedal to the metal for as long as I can Next year, David Schill is excited to wel- tive spirit, mental and physical toughness, sustain and then relax just as hard. For come his younger brother, J.P. 2018, to the and a selfless attitude that allows them athletes, it’s crucial to utilize office hours— Centre College football team. to put the needs of the team as their top a useful skill I learned from attending con- priority,” he says. ference periods at Asheville School—study J.P. Schill committed to Centre this winter, groups, tutors and review sessions.” and he plans to play on offense—which At colleges like Centre and Williams, means the brothers will face each other in Rashad Morrison and David Schill have to Morrison advised students considering practices next year. “I am beyond excited be just as committed to their academics as playing a college sport to embrace the and blessed to share this experience with they are to their sport. With intense prac- challenge to manage time in athletics and him and once again have J.P. as a team- tices and lifting schedules combined with academics at Asheville School. mate,” says David. time spent in preparation for games, travel, and other team events, it can be difficult to “Instead of being overly reactive to the Gus Schill is proud of Morrison and his keep up with academic demands. challenges, embrace them, knowing that sons. “It has been a tremendous honor to they will make you stronger at the next coach all three of these young men,” he They both say that playing at Asheville level of your life,” he says. “On the flip side says. “Each player brought unique gifts and School helped prepare them for just that of that, don’t take everything so seriously. talents and had special leadership roles on challenge. their given teams.” 44 Achievement • Spring 2018 Math Instructor Draws Inspiration from Leading Courses at Columbia University’s Klingenstein Summer Institute for Early Career Teachers

By Alex Hill Staff Writer

Students in math courses don’t typically take field trips, and yet every semester you might walk into the popular Hole Donuts in Asheville to find Math Instructor Var- ghese Alexander’s class crowded around a table with a dozen donuts. These students are doing more than taking a break from class for a sweet treat, however.

Hole Donuts creates a fixed number of donuts every day and pays employees a living wage. Alexander takes his students to the shop to calculate the store’s approxi- mate daily revenue after students learn the number of employees, look up the local living wage, and learn the number of do- nuts made for the day. Alexander believes in teaching his students applied math—he wants them to realize how relevant math is in situations throughout life. positive change. In his varied roles at Ashe- Island. During his time at St. George’s, he ville School—math teacher, assistant dean attended the Klingenstein Institute as a He also strongly believes in weaving a of faculty, director of community plural- participant, which he says changed his life sense of equity and social justice through ism, director of academic technology and forever. his courses. faculty advisor of the Multicultural Club— Alexander strives to change students’ “Well, I met my wife there, so it was defi- “You can make equity systemic and make perspectives on learning and life. nitely transformative,” he says. “But aside it a part of the classroom lecture, even in a from that, I learned about growth mindset math classroom,” Alexander says. “You can Since 2013, Alexander has worked during and brain science. We also talked about talk about ideas that impact the commu- summers as a co-lead math instructor at diversity in a way that I hadn’t thought nity.” Columbia University’s Klingenstein Sum- about before. It seeded the ideas about mer Institute for Early Career Teachers, a equity that I think are integrated in my Later in the semester, Alexander takes his prestigious summer course that aims to work today.” students to the Asheville Farmers Market. strengthen educators’ skills and under- There, they see how much fresh produce standings as they navigate through the Alexander credits the Klingenstein Insti- they can purchase for the same money that early years of their careers. There, Alexan- tute for sparking his interest in educational bought each of them donuts at Hole. der works to pass on his passion for teach- concepts that have changed how he ap- ing and community building to leading proaches classroom teaching, specifically, “We can create models around cost of independent school educators across the growth mindset and metacognition. living,” Alexander says. “We can talk about country. wages and things like the poverty line and Growth mindset is a concept pioneered how that is all calculated.” Alexander was appointed at Asheville by Dr. Carol Dweck that postulates that School in 2007 after working as a teacher students will accomplish more when they Throughout his career as an educator, and Interim Assistant Dean of Students at Alexander has sought to be an agent for St. George’s School in Middletown, Rhode Achievement • Spring 2018 45 asked to reflect on and write about the concepts they have learned.

“They write about their process on home- work, own their mistakes no matter how small, recognize that errors happen often, and then address the problem,” Alexander says. “This allows for us to take the logical reasoning and writing of proof-based ge- ometry and thread it throughout the entire curriculum.” think that a focus on effort—rather than Ultimately, the department decided to innate talent—will help them achieve. rethink how they were teaching and set Olivia Waters 2016 was one of the first out to make math accessible for more students who completed the new applied Metacognition is the awareness of one’s students. After researching math programs math curriculum. She came to Asheville own thought process. Educators help stu- and working closely with faculty members School as a sophomore, and she said that dents think through their understanding from Westover School in Middlebury, before starting this style of learning that of concepts and reflect on what they have Connecticut, they designed a new course, math and science frustrated her. learned and what they do not yet under- developed their own classroom materials stand. The aim of metacognition is to help and launched a new honors curriculum “In previous classes my experience pretty students seek out new approaches to a in applied math that parallels the classic much consisted of going into class, get- subject to strengthen their understanding honors math program. ting a problem, having a lecture, and then of its concepts. learning how to do that kind of problem. “The idea of a parallel curriculum is the It was very systematic, and it wasn’t very Alexander strives to cultivate a growth biggest change,” Alexander says. In the active,” she says. mindset among the students in his class- theoretical curriculum, students take rooms. It wasn’t until he worked as an Geometry, Algebra II, Pre-Calculus, and Once Waters began the Asheville School instructor for Klingenstein, though, that he AP Calculus. In the applied curriculum, classes, she learned to love math. “I took and his colleagues had an idea to funda- students take Quant I and II—which statistics, and I fell in love with it. I got mentally change how math is taught at rely on metacognition; a new class called in that class and fell in love with every Asheville School. Functions, Finance and Statistics; and AP single problem I was doing, I never wanted Statistics. to leave class—which really is kind of “It was after other Asheville School math strange—and then I decided I wanted to teachers—Megan Grant and Anna Law- Asheville School Math Department Chair do it as my major.” rence—attended Kingenstein,” Alexander Mike Hill is excited with the results of says. “We had been talking about metacog- the new curriculum. “This allows every It is this result that motivates Alexander nition for years but never took the step of student at Asheville School to take an AP and his colleagues. “We are building their using it directly with our students.” math course,” he says. confidence,” he says. “Many of these stu- dents come into this class thinking they are The faculty members of the math depart- Beyond the addition of the AP Statistics no good at math. This is all about build- ment got together and began to discuss math track, the department also drew from ing a growth mindset and proving to our how these concepts could be woven into Alexander’s work at Klingenstein to inte- students they can do it.” the curriculum. grate the concepts of growth mindset and metacognition in many of their courses in Since implementing the new curriculum, “We knew we needed a change because order to increase students’ confidence in Alexander has helped math department alumni would come back and say, ‘Hey! math. self-evaluation teams from Ravenscroft Now that I’m in college, I never have to School in Raleigh, North Carolina, and take another math class again,’” Alexander In class, students learn concepts and work Girls Preparatory School in Chattanooga, says. “Even though they might see success through example sets as you would see in Tennessee. on a test, they didn’t like the subject.” any traditional math course. They are then 46 Achievement • Spring 2018 Alexander is grateful for the work he’s done at the Klingenstein Institute for Asheville School Educators Accepted to Columbia prompting him and his colleagues to make these changes. “If you take the time to University’s Klingenstein Summer Institute make one small change, you can look at A number of Asheville School teachers the pros and cons. Tweaking those small have attended the prestigious Klingenstein changes over time can lead to significant Summer Institute. Current teachers include changes.” Science Department Chair Frank Kriegler, Humanities Teacher and Associate Director Ultimately, Alexander hopes to create more of the College Office Burke Rogers, Math moments of reflection in the lives of both Teacher and Director of Residential Life the students and educators he works with Megan Grant, and Math Teacher and each year. He hopes that these approaches Director of the Service Program Anna Lawrence. can be carried forward to increase others’ self-awareness, confidence, and skills in the We are also excited to announce that French classroom and in life. Teacher Morgann Lyles has been accepted to attend the 2018 Klingenstein Summer Institute! Commemorating 50 Years of Racial Integration at Asheville School

By Alex Hill generation “hidden figure,” who was fea- Staff Writer tured in Margot Shetterly’s 2016 book and spoke about her career at NASA. Darden 2017 marked the 50th year since Gil was hired as a computer/data analyst and Prince, Al McDonald, and Frank Dupree over the course of her career became the became the first African-American stu- first African-American woman promoted dents to enroll in Asheville School. to the Senior Executive Service at the NASA Langley Research Center. To recognize this landmark in the school’s history, Asheville School sponsored pro- Later that month, Asheville School cel- gramming throughout the year that aimed ebrated Civil Rights Day: an annual Ashe- to educate students on the past and invite ville School event when standard classes conversation and consideration of multi- are replaced for a day-long consideration cultural issues of today. of current issues surrounding Civil Rights in the United States and beyond. Gil Prince 1971 joined the school com- munity to discuss his time at Asheville This year, Associate Professor of Sociol- School as one of the first students who ogy at Texas A&M University Dr. John integrated the school. He delivered a Eason discussed the concept of race and moving and deeply personal lecture that mass incarceration in America. He was NASA Engineer Dr. Christine Darden was one of connected with students, and he discussed joined by alumnus John Volquez 2013, several speakers who visited Asheville School as part the school’s history and future. who discussed his senior dissertation from of the school commemorating the 50th Anniversary Yale University: “America’s Responsibility of Integration. In January 2018, Asheville School wel- to Create a More Effective Prison System: Achievement • Spring 2018 47 comed Dr. Christine Darden, a second Why Prisons Ought to Implement the Conditions Necessary for Social Integra- Founders’ Day Convocation. Blanco was tion Through Mutual Recognition, Educa- selected by President Barack Obama as the Timeline tion, and Other Measures.” fifth inaugural poet in U.S. history, and he is the youngest and first Latino, By Nicole Alleyne 2019 In March, Asheville School was honored immigrant, and gay person to serve My history teacher keeps talking about to welcome U.S. Congressman John Lewis in such a role. the importance of timelines. and Andrew Aydin, who created and co- She says they “put everything wrote Lewis’s memoirs in the best-selling We invite you to explore this program- into perspective” graphic-novel series “March.” Known as a ming online. Go to www.ashevilleschool. And “show us how times have changed,” leader in the Civil Rights Movement, Lewis org/50years to see photos of these events So I began mapping out my own timeline. encouraged students never to back down and watch videos of the speakers’ But something seems to be wrong; from their dreams and aspirations. presentations. I feel as if I am plotting and re-plotting the same points over and over again – In April, Asheville School hosted lauded poet Richard Blanco during the annual 1955. Emmett Till, a young black boy, was brutally murdered For looking at a white woman the wrong way; might I say, Wrong place. Wrong time. Wrong complexion. The killers were acquitted.

2012. Trayvon Martin, a young black boy Armed with a pack of Skittles in one hand and Arizona Iced Tea in the other,

U.S. Congressman John Lewis is pictured in Graham Gil Prince 1971 Was shot by a police watchman. Theater with Andrew Aydin, who created and Wrong place. co-wrote Lewis’s memoirs in the best-selling Wrong Time. graphic-novel series “March.” Wrong complexion. The killer was acquitted.

1957. A group of brilliant African-American students by the name of “Little Rock Nine” Enrolled in Arkansas’ all-white public schools As their classmates screamed to them, “Go back to Africa!”

2016. One of my fellow classmates posts to social media, “Go back to Africa.” Associate Professor of Sociology at Texas A&M John Volquez 2013 University Dr. John Eason

48 Achievement • Spring 2018 1963. Four members of the Ku Klux Klan bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, Killing four brave, beautiful black girls.

2015. Dylan Roof opened fire at a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, Killing somebody’s pastor. And mother. And grandmother, Totaling nine brave, beautiful black lives.

2008. My brother and I decided to buy ‘the flyest’ nerf guns in all of Walmart, To have the best nerf gun war in history, When Grandma said, “No, no, no, with that melanin in your smile And any gun in your hand, They will end you in a heartbeat, no matter your age.” Nicole Alleyne 2019 performs her poetry during Asheville School’s Civil Rights Day 2018

2014. So maybe that’s why I still remember the day Tamir Rice, a twelve-year-old boy, was shot by police When the boy with a pair of pearl-blue eyes While in a park, playing with a toy gun. And matching seersucker shorts Told me to sit down, You see this timeline? Shut up, It’s like a broken record, And go back to picking cotton. Scarred with perpetual bloodshed, I kid you not. Hopelessly repeating the tune of a frail and failed It was as if years and years of my ancestors’ slashing, promise of inviolable human rights, whipping, rape, and servitude Nested in the loopholes of our founding fathers. Led up to this, this one very moment, I mean, whatever happened to putting So, I respond. I hold up my hands, and I almost say, everything into perspective? “Don’t shoot.” Have times changed? “I can’t breathe.” “Don’t our lives matter, too?” To say we live in a post-racial society Is to look in the eyes of every mother But I don’t. I don’t; I hold up these hands. who has lost a child to police brutality There are scars branded in them now. And deny her pain. Maybe they are wounds passed down from generation to generation, Serving as reminders of what happens when we stand up to people who It is to brush off every racist joke don’t look like us. Learned in the middle school hallways; Or maybe they’re just callouses Gained from plotting and re-plotting the same points on my timeline. It is to conveniently forget all of the instances I just don’t remember anymore. When systemic racism has oppressed minorities for nearly six hundred years. But I show him my hands. I reach for a pencil, and I ask him, “Will you please help me fix my timeline?” Our timeline. Achievement • Spring 2018 49 Asheville School Presents Lou Bissette Award of Merit

Left to right: Head of School Arch Montgomery, Lou Bissette, and Trustee Chairman Walter Cox 1972, P’06

From Staff Reports in Asheville, where he practices law and Beverly Lake Service Award, The Land of serves as counsel at McGuire, Wood & Bis- Sky Regional Council Citizenship Award, Members of the Asheville School Board of sette, P.A. and Wake Forest’s Distinguished Alumni Trustees are proud to name Lou Bissette Award. In 2016, he received one of North the recipient of the Award of Merit. Bis- Bissette has a long track record of support- Carolina’s most prestigious awards, the sette was recognized during a convocation ing North Carolina education. He is cur- Order of the Long Leaf Pine. at Asheville School on April 12, 2018. rently the Chairman of the Board of Gov- ernors of the University of North Carolina Haywood Cochrane is the Chair of the Bissette is a longtime civic and educational System, and he is serving his sixth term Board of Trustees for the University of leader whose community service has on the Wake Forest University Board of North Carolina - Chapel Hill and serves as touched the lives of thousands of people Trustees. He has also served on the Board a Trustee for Asheville School. Cochrane across North Carolina. of Directors for the A-B Tech Foundation, has known Bissette for many years and is Western Carolina University, and the West- pleased that Bissette was chosen to receive “Asheville School established this award ern Carolina University Foundation. Asheville School’s Award of Merit. as our equivalent to an honorary degree, with the expressed intent to award it to His extensive community service includes “As I think about Lou, one word jumps those individuals who have been conspicu- two terms as mayor of Asheville and ser- directly to mind,” Cochrane says. “That ous in public service or in education,” says vice on the board of Mission-St. Joseph’s word is ‘gentleman,’ and he is one in every Asheville School Chairman of the Board of Health System and as president of the sense of the word. Lou is a leader driven Trustees Walter Cox. “Mr. Bissette’s lifetime Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce. by integrity, balance and a real sense of contributions in both public service and He currently serves on numerous boards, humor. His ability to be calm and graceful in education are compelling examples of including the Board of Directors of the under fire is one of his principal attributes. the transformative power of serving others Asheville-Buncombe Economic Develop- His commitment to education and to the and reflect the essence of what this award ment Coalition and the Asheville Commu- Asheville community provides true sup- is about.” nity Betterment Foundation. port for this award.”

Lou Bissette is a North Carolina native and Bissette has been honored with local and Asheville School Chairman of the Board grew up in High Point. He now resides regional awards for his service, including of Trustees Walter Cox and Head of School the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce Arch Montgomery presented the Award of 50 Achievement • Spring 2018 Excellence in Public Service Award, the Merit to Bissette during a convocation in the Walker Arts Center’s Graham Theater. Jack Tyrer served as Asheville School’s 6th Head of School from 1964 to 1992. Steering Asheville School Through Uncertain Times: Remembering John L. “Jack” Tyrer

By Alex Hill infirmary for the first months they were on that were difficult for both the school and Staff Writer campus. society at large. During his early years, the country grappled with the Civil Rights John Lloyd “Jack” Tyrer, who served as They were able to move into the Fall Movement and the height of the Vietnam Head of School at Asheville School from House just a day before the school wel- War; students were protesting across the 1964 to 1992, passed away on January 24, comed students back to campus for the fall country, and Asheville School was not 2018 at the age of 90. He is survived by his semester. “The movers came just before insulated from the tumultuous times. wife, Jeanne, and children Alison Tyrer, the students arrived,” Jeanne recalls. “The John Tyrer Jr. 1975, David Tyrer 1979, and whole right side of the house was closed According to Steve Levin 1973 in his Ashe- Jill Tyrer 1982 and their families. off because it was being used as storage ville School history, Amid Rugged Moun- while we hosted the students and families tains, Tyrer had his work cut out for him Jack Tyrer arrived in Asheville to assume in the other side of the house.” from the moment he stepped on campus. his new role as Head of School in July 1964. Jeanne arrived that August with A month later and just in time for their “Asheville School’s financial picture in Alison, John and David; she was pregnant first Trustee Weekend, Jeanne and Jack cel- 1964 was not strong. It had virtually no with Jill. ebrated the birth of their fourth child, Jill. endowment,” writes Levin. “Students from midwestern states, the section of the The Tyrer family immediately discovered Those first few months kicked off the start country that formerly provided the bulk the sometimes-chaotic nature of life at to Jack Tyrer’s 28-year career as head of of the enrollment, were no longer com- Asheville School. Former Head of School Asheville School. ing to the school in large numbers, as they Dave Fall and his wife, Betty, had not yet felt it had become a ‘southern’ school. The moved out of the headmaster’s house, so Those 28 years were not always easy. Tyrer physical plant was aging and in dire need the Tyrers took up residence in the school’s guided Asheville School through times of renovation.” Achievement • Spring 2018 51 Tyrer set out to tackle these challenges and throughout his tenure worked to secure and shape Asheville School’s future.

The two most fundamental changes Tyrer implemented were the racial integration of the school in 1967 and introduction of coeducation with the acceptance of girls into the student body in 1971.

“Jack’s decision to integrate and then become coeducational in a relatively short time starting in 1967 was both idealis- tic and practical,” says current Head of School Arch Montgomery. “It is clear that Jack wanted to be a leader in the South in implementing a policy that was in keeping with his personal philosophy of inclusion. But Jack also had the insight to see the handwriting on the wall. Remember, by the time of the late 1960s, boarding schools around the country were going through a period of challenge. Folks were not beating down the doors to go to boarding school. These decisions have resonated through the decades as particularly critical to the health of Asheville School.”

Tyrer believed in the importance of a diverse student body. In addition to open- ing Asheville School’s doors to students of color and girls, he began the school’s Jack and Jeanne Tyrer stand on the Fall House lawn. participation in international exchange programs, making connections with the second half of the twentieth century, nating the second form in 1968, he set out American Secondary Schools for Inter- demonstrating to the community that to stress the four-year college preparatory national Students and Teachers (ASSIST) diversity is indeed a strong addition to the curriculum that has become a hallmark of and the English-Speaking Union (ESU) school,” Salisbury said. the school today. exchange program. “This diversity includes girls, but it also In a 1989 interview for The Achievement, The implications of these decisions were entails foreign students and students of Tyrer reflected on the changes he made articulated by Margaret Salisbury 1992 different races and creeds. Without Mr. during his first 25 years leading Asheville during an address to the school commu- Tyrer’s perseverance and aspiration to- School. nity during Alumni Weekend in 1992. wards coeducation, my goals may not have been attainable by other means. For this, “When I first came here, a student could “Perhaps it is fitting and convenient that I I know that Mr. Tyrer has affected many not enter the third form unless he went am a girl speaking about coeducation, but in his desire to create diversity by giving back and took second form Latin and it is one of the largest transitions that Mr. young people an opportunity to excel at second form mathematics,” he said. “The Tyrer has made in his years of leading the The Asheville School.” curriculum had that kind of rigidity. Our Asheville School through the changes of enrollment was down, and it was unreal- Tyrer also made significant changes to istic to expect that, so I started tinkering 52 Achievement • Spring 2018 Asheville School’s curriculum. After elimi- with the curriculum to make it a little more realistic.”

Jack and Jeanne Tyrer also had a commit- ment to outdoor education that they wove into the fabric of Asheville School. It was under Jack Tyrer that Pop Hollandsworth started the Mountaineering Program in the form that is recognizable today. Jeanne Tyrer reestablished the school’s equestrian program in 1985, and under her auspices, it grew to be able to sustain a full-time rid- ing instructor by 1992.

Montgomery says that Tyrer’s decisions to diversify the student body and change the curriculum while still retaining elements of classic academia has set Asheville School on its footing today.

“It is fair to say that we stand today as the only small coeducational boarding school in the South that has both high standards for personal conduct and academics and is predominantly a boarding school,” Mont- Above all, he set out to modernize the When Tyrer returned to Asheville School gomery says. “His decisions made our school and keep it relevant without los- for Alumni Weekend 2017, he was asked unique claim possible.” ing the core traditions that set Asheville what he viewed as the most notable deci- School apart. sions during his tenure. He said he was Tyrer also responded to the need to secure most proud of the work he did to integrate Asheville School’s future through add- “While the extraordinary upheavals of the the school and make it coeducational. ing to the endowment and completing 1960s were hitting boarding schools, many Back in 1989, he summed it up thusly: significant renovations to the buildings on if not most schools changed traditions “We’re a better school because we have campus. to stay in step with the more permissive girls, because we have diversity. We’re a times,” Montgomery says. “Many if not better school because we have foreign kids He added the Philip R. Clarke House to most schools gave up on Sunday chapel and minority kids and scholarship kids. It Anderson Hall to allow for family-friendly and eliminated seated family-style meals. could not stay the way it was.” housing for faculty members; renovated Jack hung on to the mission that made many of the buildings to create needed Asheville School special and continues to “The long-term implications of Jack’s classroom, club room, and library space; make the school special today.” critical decisions over his 28-year tenure oversaw the building of the Rodgers Me- are that we are a thriving school widely morial Athletic Center and the conversion Levin quotes Tyrer reflecting on his recognized nationally and internationally of the Perkins Gym into the Walker Arts career: “The major accomplishments in as one of the finest small boarding schools Center; helped create Asheville School’s those years,” he said, “were holding on to in North America,” Montgomery says. first faculty chair; oversaw the plans for what was good from the past, while being the first girls’ dormitory, Kehaya House, receptive to changes such as coeducation, A service remembering Jack Tyrer took which opened the space on campus behind integration, and diversity. We are still a place in the William Boyd Chapel on Sat- Mitchell; and helped grow the endowment traditional school with a distinctive style urday, April 28, 2018. from $832,000 in 1965 to over $16.2 mil- that is appropriate for any generation; at lion by the time he retired. the same time, we have been open to new ideas and changes in curriculum appropri- ate to our style.” Achievement • Spring 2018 53 In memoriam: Nicholas P. Jordan 1959 November 29, 2017 Alumnus and former Development Officer He had a career in sales and marketing 50th reunion in 2009. He retired officially Nick Jordan passed away November 29, roles for several cosmetic companies head- after five years at the school. In 2014 Nick 2017, at his resi- quartered in New York City. He was a part- was awarded the school’s Heedy Award, dence in Asheville ner in a small boutique executive search recognizing his outstanding service on the after a battle with firm in New York before moving his family staff and as a volunteer previously. cancer. He entered in 1987 to Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb Asheville School in of Nashville. In Nashville, he served in a After retiring, Nick spent five years as a the third form from number of sales and marketing roles of a volunteer at SCORE, the counseling arm Garden City High privately-owned printing and distribution of the Small Business Administration, School in New York. company. serving as chairman for two years. He was He spent much of his youth in Lenoir, a member of the Life Transitions Commit- North Carolina. At Asheville School, Nick In 2002 Nick moved to Asheville to join tee at the Osher Life-Long Learning Insti- captained the cheerleading squad, played the Development staff of Asheville School tute at UNCA. He also served as president varsity tennis, football, track and soccer, as the Major and Planned Gifts Officer. of the Fletcher Community Chorus and and was very involved with various cam- Nick brought many alumni closer to the sang with the Deerfield Chorus. He was an pus singing groups. His brother, Tom, was school--by bringing them to campus avid bridge and poker player and enjoyed a 1957 Asheville School graduate. to speak to students, sharing stories of travel, reading and studying 20th-century their time at Asheville School and in the European history. Nick was a graduate of the University of military, helping them to network, and North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He served providing ever-conscientious follow-up. Nick was predeceased by his wife, Helen, in four years in the US Air Force, honorably During Nick’s tenure, the school raised $9 2000 and his brother, Tom, in 2007. Survi- discharged as a captain in 1968. Serving million in new capital gifts and an addi- vors include his sister, Patricia; daughters, in Germany for the first three years, he tional $1 million in new estate gifts. And Andrea and Allison; four grandchildren; met his wife, Helen Harrington, who was after he left, Nick was instrumental in the and his great friend and confidante Betty teaching for the State Department at his organization of his class’s hugely successful Doll. assigned base. In memoriam: Robert A. Walter 1966 January 1, 2018 Bob Walter, of Tampa, Florida, passed After Asheville School, Bob attended Yale with a blend of businessman, conserva- away January 1, 2018. He entered Asheville University, where he tionist, outdoorsman, and country boy.’ School in the second form and immersed earned a B.A. in His- He was a gracious and generous philan- himself fully into the Asheville School tory, and the Universi- thropist who deeply cared for the welfare experience. He was on the varsity football, ty of Florida, where he of the Tampa community. However, Bob golf, soccer, tennis and track teams; he was received a law degree neither sought nor relished the spotlight, active with school publications, drama in 1973. Bob prac- but rather was more comfortable behind productions and other student clubs; he ticed law at the firm of the scenes. was a prefect; and he won numerous aca- Shackleford Farrior in demic prizes, including Ranking Scholar Tampa for several years Bob had a passion for music, French wines, of the Second, Third, Fourth, and Sixth before establishing his own real estate hunting, and travel, but nothing compared Forms. His brother, Jimmy 1965, who development company, which allowed him to his passion for golf. He was a devoted survives him, is also an Asheville School to branch into numerous business partner- husband, father, grandfather, and brother. alumnus, and his father served on Ashe- ships and real estate investments, including He was also a loyal friend who provided ville School’s Board of Trustees from 1966 two very special to him, West Palm Wines wise counsel when sought. Bob is survived to 1978. in Ybor City, Florida, and Haven Golf by his loving wife, Zan Walter; by his son, in Green Valley, Arizona. Bob has been Alex Walter (Melanie); by his two grand- 54 Achievement • Spring 2018 described as ‘the consummate intellectual sons, Xander and Wyatt Walter; and by his older brother, Jimmy Walter ‘65. In memoriam: Allan C. Mayer 1940 October 28, 2017

Allan Mayer passed away on October 28, corporate relations, and president of the 2017, at the age of 95. Oscar Mayer Foundation.

He entered Asheville School in the fifth He served on the board of directors of Os- form and participated in Mitchell Cabinet. car Mayer & Co., the Madison Art Center, Allan played the Civil Defense Commission, Beloit Col- on the varsity lege, the Barrow Neurological Foundation, soccer team the Phoenix Seminary, and the Arizona and the tennis Heart Foundation. His faith was at the team, which he center of his life, and in 1979, Allan estab- captained in lished the Allan C. Mayer Fellowship for 1940. He was a Distinguished Preachers, which brought consistent sup- Christian speakers to Asheville School’s porter of the campus in 1979 and 1980. school, saying that Asheville In 1947, Allan married Lois Kurtz, his be- School helped loved wife, who recently preceded him in. develop his maturity and that he made They had two sons, Allan, Jr. and Gregory, great friends during his two years. and a daughter, Kathryn. They had seven grandchildren and three great-grandchil- After his graduation, Allan went on to Yale dren. They resided in Scottsdale, Arizona. University, and after nearly three years at Yale, he joined the Army Air Corps and be- came a communications officer in a P-38 In memoriam: Robert A. Walter 1966 fighter group in the South Pacific theater. After military service, Allan earned a BS degree in Business Administration from Northwestern University.

His career was devoted to his family com- pany, Oscar Mayer & Co. Allan became a trainee in the Chicago plant and was eventually promoted to plant manager in Davenport, IA, and vice-president of the company. In 1952, Allan was transferred to corporate headquarters in Madison, Wis- consin, where he served as vice-president of plant managers, foreign operations,

Achievement • Spring 2018 55 Always interested in photography, he began to pursue it professionally in 1961. With his strong engineering and math- ematics background, he mastered the tech- nical aspects of photography. He devel- In oped innovative analog image processing techniques, reflected in the name of his last Memoriam exhibition, “Before Photoshop.” For most of his life, John was an active C. Merrill Matzinger 1933 John T. Urban 1937 outdoorsman. An accomplished white- March 7, 2017 December 7, 2017 water boater (kayak and canoe) and an Charles Merrill Matzinger died peacefully John Urban died after a short illness at active member of the Boston chapter of in his sleep at home on March 7, 2017, at the age of 99 on Thursday, December 7, the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), the age of 101 in Salt Lake City, Utah. at Massachusetts General Hospital, in the he designed and built one of the leading company of his family. kayaks of the time, and wrote a kayaking He entered Asheville School in the second manual published by the AMC. He was form and participated in English Club, John entered Asheville School in the fourth also a sailor, hiker, and casual cyclist. track squad, crew, water sports, soccer, form and participated in varsity soccer, choir and drama. After his graduation Tech Society, Senior Council, English Club, John is survived by his four children, from Asheville School, he went on to Am- crew, choir, and Glee Club. He served as an Anne, Robert, Nancy, and Margaret, and herst College in Massachusetts. assignment editor and head columnist for his niece, Susan. the Ashnoca. Merrill worked with Braun and Co. and E. Bretney Smith, Jr. 1947 with Merrill Lynch in Cuba, and as a After high school, he went on to study February 3, 2018 trustee for family trusts. He competed in mechanical and aeronautical engineering Bretney Smith, Jr. died on Saturday, Febru- swimming and rowing in college. He was at Princeton University and Ryan School ary 3, 2018, at his home at Givens Estates a black belt in judo and competed during of Aeronautics from 1937 to 1940 and de- in Asheville at the age of 89. his time in Cuba. He loved skiing, hiking, signed and built aircraft as part of the war scuba, biking, sailing, dancing, running effort. He volunteered for the US Army Air He graduated with a BS from University of rivers and camping. His love for music Forces in 1943. Completing his pilot train- North Carolina - Chapel Hill before join- led him to become a very accomplished ing as World War II ended, he was honor- ing the United States Navy. Upon his re- flamenco guitarist. Artistically he designed ably discharged in 1945. turn home from World War II, he graduat- and built several houses, and his San Fran- ed from North Carolina State University’s After moving to New York City, he began cisco home was featured in Architectural School of Forestry. His new degree led him writing articles on music and reviews of Digest. to take a job in Birmingham, Alabama, recordings for Musical America magazine. where he met the love of his life, Coleman Merrill is survived by his wife Mary Lou, Throughout his life he loved music, partic- Cross. They married and returned home his first wife Alicia, his daughters Caridad ularly classical, and sang in many choruses, to Asheville to join his father in the family Dors and Octavia (Anton) Palepoi, and including the Dessoff Choirs in New York business, Swannanoa Cleaners, becoming his sons, Stanley Matzinger and Carter and Chorus Pro Musica in Boston. the third generation to do so; he retired in (Carolyn) Matzinger, 11 grandchildren, 2 2016. great-grandchildren, his extended Ma- John was fascinated with human thought and behavior. He returned to academia, gowan family, Merrill family and many Bretney was a member of Quality Forward, first at the New School for Social Research great friends and all who had the pleasure Asheville Rotary Club, Civitan, Biltmore in New York, where he earned a B.A., and of knowing him. Forest Country Club; chairman of the then at Harvard University as a doctoral Board of Asheville Savings Bank and a student in psychology, where he worked past president of the North Carolina Dry with B.F. Skinner. Cleaning Association; on the Board of Stewards at Central United Methodist Church, and on the boards at CarePartners 56 Achievement • Spring 2018 and Givens Estates. He enjoyed all things littlest member of the class, but he was pital in Tampa, Florida, at the age of 79. At outdoors, hunting, fishing, and especially perhaps one of the most conscientious. Asheville School, he played varsity football at his home at Lake Tahoma. When a He was a very hard worker, and his studies and tennis and was active with the choir. student at UNC, Bretney was on the tennis were always of primary importance to team and a member of DeKe fraternity. him. The little man did not work all the Reverend Holmes devoted his life to his time, though. For all his diminutiveness, church and community. In 1972 he began He was preceded in death by his son, he could join in rowdy carousal as well as the Judeo Christian Health Clinic in William Bretney Smith; his sister, Mary anyone. He could free himself from the Tampa. It grew from one doctor and one Elizabeth McMahon, and her husband, worries and cares of school life just as eas- nurse offering weekly services in a Sunday Frank; and his nephew, Robert Alexander ily as the next fellow.” school classroom to a 7,000 square foot McMahon. He is survived by his loving facility that has helped thousands. wife of 59 years, Coleman Cross Smith; After graduating Asheville School, David The Judeo Christian Health Clinic serves his daughter, Elizabeth Stacy Smith and earned a B.S. equivalent in Metallurgical the uninsured in the Tampa Bay com- her wife, Susan McCreary, of Asheville; his Engineering from the Colorado School of munity and offers medical, dental, and brother, Canie Brown Smith and his wife, Mines. He worked for AMOCO in Texas vision care provided by volunteer health Lyn Roda Smith, of Asheville; and loving for a while and spent his later years in New care professionals. Reverend Holmes also nieces and nephews. Mexico. During a visit to campus in 1991, helped start a group home for people with he described himself as a faith healer. Roger B. Triplett, Jr. 1950 disabilities and a children’s learning center. October 30, 2016 William R. Ballew 1954 He is survived by his wife, Pat, and daugh- March 15, 2018 From Lenoir, North Carolina, Roger ter, Nicole Cuddeback Ambrosio (Anto- entered Asheville School in the fourth William Ralph Ballew, of Hickory, North nio) of Florence, . form from Woodberry Forest School and Carolina, passed away on March 15, 2018, John A. Heppenstall 1957 attended for three years. He attended at Duke University Medical Center at the April 7, 2018 UNC - Chapel Hill for a time and in 1952 age of 82. married Betty Copenhaver, the daughter John “Jack” Alexander Heppenstall, 80, of long-time Asheville School registrar After leaving Asheville School, William peacefully passed away on Saturday, April Bill Copenhaver. Through the early 1960s, graduated from Claremont Central High 7, 2018, at his home. Roger worked for Blowing Rock Chair School in Hickory, North Carolina. He Company (later Blowing Rock Furniture then went on to graduate from the Uni- Jack was raised in Pittsburgh and entered Industries), which his father founded. He versity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Asheville School in the fourth form. He spent much of his later years living on in 1958, where he was a member of the served on the dance committee and in ranches in Wyoming and Florida. Roger is Kappa Sigma fraternity. Mitchell Cabinet, was in the A Society and the father of two Asheville School alum- choir, and played varsity basketball, varsity William was a founding member and first ni—Whit Triplett 1978, who passed away baseball, and B-team basketball. He was president of Hickory Rotary-East. He was in 2012, and Clarke Triplett 1984. also a cheerleader and earned the Valier also the president of Harper Motor Com- Award in Baseball in 1957. Jack went on to David R. Genth 1952 pany in the 1960s and later a stockbroker receive a B.A. degree from Dickinson Col- January 16, 2018 for Interstate Securities in Hickory. lege in 1961. David Genth passed away on January 16, William was preceded in death by his wife A steel man through and through, Jack 2018. He entered Asheville School in the of 49 years, Shirley Lundeen Ballew. He is cherished the legacy of the Heppenstall second form from the Arizona Desert survived by his fiancée, Anne Rice; his son Steel Company; the business as well as School in Tucson, AZ. David served on the William Ralph Ballew, Jr and wife Hope; the rest of his beloved family were a last- Senior Class Gift Committee and partici- their children, Bradley William Ballew ing source of pride throughout his life. pated in varsity soccer, woodcraft, junior and Bryce Woodward Ballew; and his son Without question, Jack’s favorite place baseball, junior soccer and junior football. Samuel Davant Ballew. was being “at the lake” surrounded by He also served as a cheerleader and on the staff of the Ashnoca during his senior year. Rev. J. Norwood Holmes 1956 March 3, 2016 According to his entry in the 1952 year- Achievement • Spring 2018 57 book: “David Genth may have been the Reverend Jim Norwood Holmes passed away on March 3, 2016, at St. Joseph’s Hos- his family. Having spent 60 years enjoy- guages, and held various business interests ing summer life at Lake Winnipesaukee, in the Cayman Islands and elsewhere. there was no place he would rather have been than sitting in his favorite, well-worn Herbo is survived by his four children, rocking chair on the porch, “pinkie” in James Herbert Humphreys, III (Alina), hand, reveling in the chaos of his children Courtney Humphreys Rolls (David), John and grandchildren, while listening to his Gilliland Humphreys, and Alexander Boston Red Sox on the radio. Matheson Humphreys as well as his sisters, Carolyn Stockley Humphreys, and Elise He was a loyal volunteer in the local soup Humphreys Weaver (Robert) and grand- kitchen, homeless shelter and Canterbury children, Esme Maria Rolls and Ottilie United Church of Christ. Grace Rolls.

J. Herbert Humphreys, Jr. 1966 Rob Lawrence 2008 January 16, 2018 March 3, 2018

James Herbert “Herbo” Humphreys, Jr., Rob Lawrence entered Asheville School passed away in Memphis on January 16, in the third form from New York City. He 2018. A fourth generation Memphian, he was on the basketball, football and track attended Asheville School for the 1964- teams and participated in afternoon art. 1965 school year. He attended Rollins and After graduation, he attended Howard Broward colleges, served in the U.S. Navy University. (attained the rank of Captain), and re- ceived an M.B.A. and several other degrees Rob worked in retail at Juicy Couture and from University de la Romande, Isle of Abercrombie & Fitch until he settled into Man. a position at VOICE Charter School as the office coordinator. His classmate Paru Filled with an adventurous spirit, Herbo Gopalan wrote about him, “Rob’s loving was best known as a “treasure hunter,” a energy and warmth touched all of those he colorful pioneer in the underwater salvage met. He could make anyone crack a smile. business leading to the discovery of a His mom wanted us to express her deepest number of historical shipwrecks. His most gratitude to the Asheville School com- significant find was on the Spanish galleon munity. Our conversations have revolved La Señora Nuestra de Maravillas, off Grand around memories from high school, and it Bahama Island. He explored more than is evident that Rob really treasured his AS 160 countries, was fluent in several lan- friendships.”

Numerous surviving family members in- clude his mother, Keisha; sisters Kiah and Sage; and his father, Robert.

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Important Upcoming Receptions and Events May 26, 2018 Commencement 2018 June 16, 2018 Seoul, South Korea June 22, 2018 Chicago, IL July 23, 2018 Asheville Tourist Baseball Night August 18, 2018 Opening Day 2018 October 5 – 6, 2018 Family Weekend October 13, 2018 Rabun Gap Day October 18 – 20, 2018 Fall Play October 26, 2018 Bonfire & Alumni/Parent Gathering at Bement House October 27, 2018 Christ School Game (Away) November 2018 New York City – Date TBD December 2, 2018 Holiday Candlelight Service January 21, 2019 Admission Open House February 21 – 23, 2019 Winter Musical April 26 – 28, 2019 Alumni Weekend 2019 May 9 – 10, 2019 Spring Dance Performance May 25, 2019 Commencement 2019

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