December 2019

VOL. XXVIII, NO. 3 LENOX, MASSACHUSETTS DECEMBER, 2019 newsletters, photographs, and corporate documents; inci- Letter from the Editor dental papers and documents (some significant, some trivial, and some private); and……. the money. Dear Fellow Alumni and Friends of Lenox School, A group of folks, including Randy Harris, Bob Sansone, Ed Another October, another enjoyable and successful LSAA Miller, Paul Denzel, John Schneiter, Keith Simpson , and even reunion. Great weather, terrific fall colors in the Berk- my wife Carole (a trained and experienced archivist) have shires, many friends, a superb dinner at the Lenox Club. been gnawing on this issue. We don’t have all the answers, but we do have many suggestions and ideas. We’re working And a very significant business meeting. on it. More in future P&S issues as answers and plans are resolved. Clarity is on the horizon. The main topics of the meeting were the results of a second challenge grant and a firm decision concerning the We do have an answer for the money, however, and that LSAA’s future… or part of that future. was the central theme of our business meeting. Jeff Smith, Fritz Eckel, Ira Colby , and Paul Denzel, through hard work First, the money. For yet another year, we were challenged and appropriate due diligence, recommended that the LSAA to meet an ambitious donation hurdle. Last year, we met a engage a local trust management firm that specializes in challenge grant posed by two generous alumni. And again non-profit charitable fund management. You will read much for this year, another alumnus posed an even more ag- about the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation (BTCF) gressive challenge, which we met and exceeded. You will in this issue. The LSAA voted at this year’s business meeting read Bob’s and Ed’s words, both of whom elaborate on the to allow BTCF to manage our legacy foundation on an ongo- generosity of our classmates – so I won’t belabor it here. ing basis according to our mission statement to them. Second, still the money. For several years, LSAA Board Please read more about the BTCF in the following articles members have grappled with difficult questions on a topic and consider how you might help the LSAA legacy continue we’d all like to avoid: how to wind down the LSAA activi- to provide scholarships in our name after we’re gone. ties and physical presence. We’re not getting younger, and nobody’s graduating from Lenox School to take our place. I note that my letter in last year’s December issue bemoaned At some point, we need to let it go. When? When should the devastating and deadly fires on the west coast. Sadly, we slow down? What do we do with our collected ar- this year is no different. We pray that all our friends and chives? What do we save (and who wants it)? What do we families have escaped that nightmare and wish the best for discard and what do we keep? If we keep precious items, others who have been impacted by that ongoing disaster. where do we store them? What should we do with our scholarship donations and our remaining money? We wish all LSAA members, family, classmates, and friends a safe and healthy holiday season and a safe, healthy, and This discussion, a bit formless at first, has come into slightly prosperous New Year. clearer focus. The LSAA “stuff” falls into four major cat- egories: The physical items, such as jackets and other Don Foster ‘63 paraphernalia; important documents, including yearbooks, * * * Lenox, Massachusetts 01240 2 implications of the path forward we have defined. More The President’s Message details about this later in my message. The luncheon and dinner served as a wonderful opportunity for classmates and alums to review the assembled memorabilia, reacquaint, and reminisce about their Lenox School days. Perhaps most touching was Mr. Paterson’s reading of Howard Prestwich’s Lenox School Reunion Prayer. Following the business meeting, we were again treated to Allyn Burroughs recitation of the St. Crispin’s Day speech from Shakespeare’s Henry V as a prelude to the raising of our flag. Every year, Allyn’s presentation and the words strike me as profoundly appropriate for our Lenox School The Lenox School Class of ‘69 Thunders Back! band of brothers (“…But we in it shall be remember’d; We few, we happy few, we band of brothers…”) What a tremendous turnout we had this year! The Lenox School Class of 1969 arrived in tremendous numbers with With Thanksgiving approaching as I write this, we have the same enthusiasm they displayed back in the day. much to be thankful for as an organization. The response to our appeal for fundraising to meet the challenge grant To top it off, it was a historical event for the LSAA, as we was beyond expectations! As of this writing, our target accomplished some major initiatives with the help of the was to raise $12,500; and members responded with over voting members at the business meeting. As usual, we $19,000! We are humbled and grateful for the overwhelm- owe a great debt to our friends at S&Co who were again ing support. warm and inviting hosts. “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s We had the great benefit of having the following masters end.” — Seneca in attendance: Mr. Paterson, Mr. Putnam, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Fawcett, Mr. Dostourian, and Mr. Kline. As I alluded in the first paragraph, history was made at the reunion this year, and more specifically this history was The business meeting was in my opinion the most conse- created at the business meeting. quential one we have conducted due to the far reaching We have been discussing for several years the future course that we need to take to fulfill our mission to the memory, history and legacy of the school as the relentless march of time reminds us we only get so many trips around the sun. “Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It’s the courage to continue that counts.” — Winston Churchill It is not unusual during the reunion for some of the talk about Lenox School to reflect on why it was successful and then why it failed. The interesting and positive aspect at this reunion is that members demonstrated the courage and flinty determination to create a path forward to share the essence and legacy of Lenox School with countless future generations. Nol Putnam ’51 & Master Confers with Bob Kline ’48 & Master and Charlie Daniell ’48, Determined to write a new chapter for Lenox School, the while Zoe and Elizabeth Maintain Order. LSAA members, in a sense, rectified the closing of the Lenox, Massachusetts 01240 3 school by supporting the establishment of a trust that will the tenets of our motto and honor our debt to the keep the history and legacy of Lenox School vibrant and men who founded the school and to those head- ongoing in perpetuity. masters, masters, faculty, staff, family, trustees and friends who selflessly sacrificed and dedicated them- We did this with the unanimous support of the voting selves to Lenox School and to those of us fortunate members present. As a result, we were able to initiate enough to have attended. The Lenox School Alumni Association Fund with Berkshire • Establishing the trust ultimately allows the story and Taconic Community Foundation. legacy of Lenox School to endure beyond our time. And so, we are now able to reopen the school (albeit virtu- Which brings me to the other point I need to make: ally) to others through the future donations and scholarships that will be made in our name from this trust and • We’re still an active organization! We plan to be from a Website that will tell the Lenox School story, contain active for several years into the future while the fund digitized information and images on the school’s history, is concurrently allowed to grow through investment yearbooks, Pen & Scrolls and other memorabilia, etc. gains and donations from members. • As such, we will still need funding (via tax deductible Perhaps we’ll need a new flag and make an addendum to contributions to the LSAA) for the next few years to the historical plaque! Maybe we just tell folks we took a 48 support our administrative costs (printing the P&S, year hiatus! making donations, awarding scholarships, etc.). • Thanks to the incredible generosity of members, the Berkshire Taconic specializes in supporting exactly the type LSAA is on good financial footing for this (see Trea- of activity we desire after we are no longer an active entity. surer’s Report) but we will still need to rely on the The members voted to invest $30,000, thanks again in large generous support of members to allow us to carry measure to the incredible generosity of one alum who pro- on. vided a $12,500 challenge grant along with the humbling generosity of other alums who donated well beyond our Here is the way to continue donating to the LSAA for the target challenge goal. above stated purposes: Our plan is to leave this fund to grow through the years Donations should be made out to the LSAA and sent to ahead (while we’re still active) by affording alums and either Ed Miller or Bob Sansone at the following address: others the opportunity to make tax deductible donations or establish bequeaths in their wills to The Lenox School Bob Sansone Alumni Association Fund. Berkshire Taconic will be guided 69 Mount Sumner Drive by the fund mission statement we provided them and Bolton, CT 06043 input from the LSAA board members (who will be advisers to provide additional input and guidance).

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