By Amitava Kumar Estare Alston '90 “Living in Two Worlds”
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Nonprofit Org. US POSTAGE PAID Winter 2012018-196-17 Permit No. 259 Newburgh, NY Address Service Requested OakNEWSLETTER FROM OAKWOOD FRIENDS SCHOOL • CELEBRATINGLeaves OVER 200 YEARS OF FRIENDS EDUCATION IN THE HUDSON VALLEY “A Human Writes Human Rights: Estare Alston ’90 A Novelist’s Report” By Amitava Kumar “Living in Two Worlds” promote social justice. Kumar will present: “A Hu- man Writes Human Rights: A Novelist’s Report.” Amitava Kumar was born in Ara, India, and grew up in the nearby town of Patna, famous for its corruption, crushing poverty and deli- cious mangoes. He is the author of several books of nonfiction and two novels. His prize- winning book A Foreigner Carrying in the Crook of His Arm a Tiny Bomb (2010) was described by The New York Times as a “perceptive and soulful … meditation on the global war on ter- ror and its cultural and human repercussions.” His latest book, Immigrant, Montana: A Nov- el (2018) was included in the list of notable Visit us at www.oakwoodfriends.org books of the year by The New York Times. Kumar is the Helen D. Lockwood Professor of English at Vassar College and has been honored with residencies at Yaddo and The Norman Mail- Estare Alston, class of 1990, mesmerized our 16 Winter 2012018-196-17 NEWSLETTER FOR ALUMNI AND MEMBERS OF THE OAKWOOD FRIENDS COMMUNITY er Center. He also has been awarded a Guggen- school community with her powerful talk heim Fellowship as well as a Ford Fellowship in about “Living in Two Worlds” presented dur- Literature from United States Artists. He serves on ing winter reunion on Friday, January 4th. Es- the editorial board of several publications and is tare spoke with candor about her own very Winter Fun the script-writer and narrator of two documenta- difficult childhood and early teenage years in ry films: “Pure Chutney” (1997) and “Dirty Laun- Brooklyn, the unexpected sequence of events dry” (2005). Professor Kumar teaches classes that brought her to Oakwood Friends School that mainly deal with reportage; the essay-form, in Poughkeepsie, and her struggle to find a both in prose and film; cities; literatures describ- place for herself in this new and unfamiliar Writer and journalist Amitava Kumar will ing the global movement of goods and people; environment. She was truly living in two present the Caroline “Dash” Davis Glei- war; and memory-work. He earned his BA and worlds – a sometimes lonely and confusing ter Lecture on Social Justice on Fri- MA at Delhi University; an MA at Syracuse Uni- experience. Estare succeeded on all fronts. day May 17th to open Alumni Weekend. versity, and PhD at University of Minnesota. After graduating from Oakwood, Estare Now in its 15th year, this lecture series was es- Oakwood Friends School is honored to wel- earned a Bachelor’s in History from Colgate tablished by classmates in memory of Dash Da- come Amitava Kumar as our 2019 Caro- University and later earned a Masters’ De- vis Gleiter ’51 in recognition of her work in civil line "Dash" Davis Gleiter Lecture on So- gree in Education and an Administrative Li- rights and her lifetime of volunteer activities to cial Justice speaker. All are welcome. cense in School Building Leadership. She is currently a 9th grade U.S. History Teacher, and President of Talk of the Town’s Toast- masters Public Speaking Club. Her goal now is to use her voice to change people’s lives by helping to change people’s perceptions. It was clear that students felt a special rapport with Estare and her positive message. Many waited for a turn to speak with her privately to share something about their own life stories. The meeting concluded with a standing ovation for Estare after her breath-taking rendition of Whitney Houston’s song, Greatest Love of All. Thank you Estare for a memorable and inspi- rational afternoon! Winter Fun Circa 1949 Estare Alston ’90 with faculty members Bill and Nancy Doolittle and Charlie Butts 2 Winter 2012018-196-17 NEWSLETTER FOR ALUMNI AND MEMBERS OF THE OAKWOOD FRIENDS COMMUNITY CELEBRATING OVER 200 YEARS OF FRIENDS EDUCATION IN THE HUDSON VALLEY Winter 2018-192016-17 15 our community. We unplug and look inward. education and the merits of our Oakwood Letter from the Head We reflect. We think. As meeting concluded community. I was inspired by the engage- we shook hands, and not surprisingly the ment, the passion and the energy of our Remembering Bert Smiley ’62 IN MEMORY By: Chad Cianfrani, Head of School middle school students bolted out the doors. current seventh graders. They have a lot of vanced Mathematics. In 1973, he met his Oakwood learning ahead of them, as do I. future wife Nina Feldman who was a se- Early this Feb- English and writing were next up. Gathered nior at Vassar College. They married a year Alice Landis Tonry ’39 ruary I walked in a circle we compared the merits of novel later and went to Princeton University for July 5, 2016 into our Meeting versus movie. A statistical approach plotted graduate study. Bert earned a PhD in eco- Room for morn- who, when, what, and how we talked during Beth Porter ’87 nomics with a focus on industrial organiza- Lucinda White Lohr ’40 ing Collection class. Graphical representation of conversa- tion. For ten years he worked for the U.S. November 5, 2018 filled with an- tion? As a statistician and engineer, I was Speaks at Davos Department of Justice Antitrust Division as ticipation, excite- both intrigued and pleasantly surprised by the Director of Research focusing on public ment and a little this addition. Spoiler…’ Princess Bride’ the policy analysis. In 1990, Bert and Nina re- Janet Stone ’46 anxiety. With movie is better than the novel according to turned to Mohonk where Bert became the December 22, 2018 the seventh- Oakwood’s 7th grade (and most of society). president and CEO and Nina became the grade class as my Director of Marketing. Bert continued in John Gilbert ’49 guide, I focused On to United States History, Civics and that role until his retirement in June 2018. June 28,2016 on the experi- Politics: Having studied the US constitu- ence at hand… tion from formation to implementation As a fourth-generation leader of the resort, my day as a earlier this term, the 7th grade class began Bert was passionate about Mohonk’s mis- Tedye Lenore Thompson ’49 middle school- with two questions: ‘What is a State of the sion of historic preservation. In 2011, 874 October 13, 2018 er. The last time I was in this position the Union Address?’ Why do we have one?” We Oakwood Friends School lost a distin- acres of Mohonk Mountain House land was Carter and Reagan administrations were in then proceeded to watch the first 20 min- guished alumnus and wonderful friend transferred to the Open Space Institute to Johanne Haberstro Trotter ’49 transition and the Trapper Keeper was an utes of the recent State of the Union Ad- when Albert Keith Smiley III passed away ensure the land’s preservation for future September 14, 2018 organizational must. As our Middle School dress and then were tasked with identifying on October 16, 2018. Known affection- generations. In 2017, the Smiley family was Director texted a photograph of the daily major themes, major goals, and topics dis- ately as Bert, he was described with these named “Legendary Family Historic Hoteliers schedule to my iPhone, I quickly realized cussed by the president. Our homework: words at a reception held at the Smiley of the Year” by the Historic Hotels World- Mary Atherton Varchaver ’49 many aspects of the middle school experi- finish watching the SOTU address, discuss April 5, 2018 Oakwood Board Member Beth Porter ’87 family's historic Mohonk Mountain House: wide at their annual Awards of Excellence. ence have changed over the last forty years. with family at home and further identify ar- “With quiet confidence, a brilliant mind, Bert believed that the strength of the busi- eas of success, areas of concern and how was a speaker at The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting held January 22-25, 2019 at and a dry wit, Bert worked tirelessly over ness lay in its community of staff. He con- Rosalee Haviland Boissy ’50 Walking the brick pathway between Main we as 7th graders can become involved. decades to preserve the Mountain House sidered them his extended Mohonk family. October 13, 2016 Building and the Dining Hall, our first stop Fourth class done… and I am exhausted. Davos in Switzerland. Beth took part in the 2nd Annual TransHuman Code Meeting of and his family’s legacy. His wisdom and in- was the photography studio and darkroom. sights, his ability to hold simultaneously a the Minds Roundtable focusing on “Humans Susan Hart Cayanne ’52 Having taken advantage of unseasonably With no rest for the weary, we shifted gears vision of the future and to craft the means warm weather the day before, the students from the classrooms to the courts. Next stop, as the Fulcrum to the Internet of Everything". October 2018 She was joined in this week-long event by of getting there were admired and appre- had already captured six rolls of black and Kildonan School with the 7th graders and the ciated by all. Bert lived with integrity – a white film around campus. Throughout rest of our middle school basketball team. the world’s premier authorities on the ap- plication of AI, Blockchain, Cybersecurity, kind person who appreciated others, and Richard White ’52 our hour-long class, canisters were awash After forty-five minutes of travel through the was, in return, loved, respected, and trust- January 5, 2019 in fixers and stop-baths.