PLAY BALL! Nothing quite soys spring like an VI afternoon at the ballpark. h UPHILL/DOWNHILL Z 1 6 U COLLEGE STREET Acquiring art for the College Z museum; considering the aquatic h weevil; and examining the hockey tf programs from A to Z. 4 22 0. ACADEMIC MATTERS U Are Shakespeare and Einstein related? As a matter of fact... 24 STUDENT SCENE Tlie Campus turns loi this year. So how does the publication look in its second century? Read all about it. 26 OLD CHAPEL As the College takes strides in its strategic plamfrng, one subject has emerged as its top priority. CLASS ACTION 42 PURSUITS Not even a hurricane could keep Hillary' Guttman ’oo from pursuing her dream. And many in New Orleans are thankful. 44 BOOK MARKS Don’t laugh. Ben Jervey ’oi has a plan for making New York City one of the greenest cities on the planet. He’ll tell you how it can be done in Tlie Big Green Apple: Your Guide to Eco-Friendly Living in New York City. Cover pliow^raph by Michael Riddell Contents phok\^raph by Dennis Curran 28 THE MIND OF THE M WARRIOR When battle-scarred National Guard !» troops return home fi'om Iraq, psychologist Jon Coffin ’67 is often the first person they see. C » 34 M A DAY IN THE LIFE So, what does a Middlebury alum’s day look like? We canvas the globe and offer you this glimpse. 38 ON TAP A sure sign of winter loosening its grip on Vermont is the sight of a sugarhouse steam billowing from a roofline vent, a fire roaring from within—in full opieration. Richard Root ’06 tells us all about it. 2 VIEWFINDER 3 LETTERS 14 CONTRIBUTORS 46 CLASS NOTES 77 CLASSIFIEDS 80 ROAD TAKEN ■ V I E W F I N D E R First Class Middlebury M A G A Z I N E After more than a quarter century of impeccable work, Alumni Editor Dotty McCarty is putting down the red pen. Spring 2006 Volume 80, N u .mber 2 To TELL YOU THE TRUTH, I didn’t know much about Middlebury College Editor when I took a job helping out with class notes. Actually, I was exhausted Matt Jennings from running after my two little boys and needed a chance to sit down. Alumni Editor On top of that, I was making nada for collecting apples and turning Dotty Mc Carty out hand-decorated jars of homemade apple butter. And it seemed like working for the College might make better use of my Berkeley degree in English Designer literature than stirring vats of hot apple butter. Pamela Fogg It was the faU of 1979 when I took off my apron and entered the amazing world of class notes. Technology was a little simpler back then. Electric typewriters were the Assistant Editor latest thing in technology, but we stiU used lots of those little bottles of white paint R egan Eberhart until the self-correcting machines arrived. I think when a column ran too long for Production Coordinator the magazine in those days, someone just took a pair of scissors and trimmed it a bit. Catherine Walsh I particularly remember the day when President Olin Robison announced that everyone at the College—student, staff, and faculty—would soon be working on a Editorial Assistants computer. My initiation came right after student Jane Benz ’83 finished typing David Grace Kronenberg ’06 Stameshkin’s Tlie Town’s College on the enormous computer we called Big Ugly.The Anne N elson ’06 magazine editor pointed menacingly at Big Ugly and said, “Okay, Dotty, put the next edition of class notes on the computer.” No instructions! AU trial and error! Editorial Office Computer programs changed, magazine editors arrived and departed, budgets Meeker House ebbed and flowed, the office packed and moved many times. Out in the old school- Middlebury College house where I lived in Cornwall, earth-shaking changes were also taking place. Middlebury,VT 05753 But no matter what was happening, the class notes flowed on, a never-ending stream Phone: 802-443-5670 chronicling the lives of thousands of Middlebury College graduates. Taking on a life E-mail: middmag(§!middlebury.edu of its own, the great tabulation of jobs, marriages, babies, joys, sorrows, and triumphs Online: surged relentlessly on. Surging along with the flow, I have been undefeated only www.middleburymagazine.org because 1 have gone on trying, barely daring to take my hands from the keyboard Advertising Sales Office in fear of being swept away. Smart Communication, Inc. But just as I gave up my house in Cornwall for a condo in town a few years ago, PO. Box 283,Vergennes,VT 05491 so must I admit that I need to cut back a bit on my obsession with reporting aU the Phone: 802-877-2262 news that’s fit to print. Fortunately, I think I’U get to hang around the College on a E-mail: info^GetSmartVTcom part-time basis, working on projects for the communications department.The best of all possible worlds! Other College Offices Glancing back through any Middlebury Magazine—can it actually be more than 100 (all area code 802) issues I have worked on!?—the class notes instantly spring to life as wide-angle snap­ College Information: 443-5000 shots of an ever-growing, ever-evolving community of Middlebury people. When Alumni Office: 443-5183 I arrived in Vermont in 1974,1 remember thinking E-mail : alumni^imiddlebury'. edu that I might like to learn to make quilts. But instead, Admissions: 443-3000 I pieced together the stories of people’s lives, and The views presented arc not necessarily those of that has been a very gratifying kind of art. And the editors or the official policies of the College. although it’s time for me to start exploring other Middlebury College of Middlebury,VT 05753, art forms, I look forward to reading the class notes publishes Middlebury Magazine (ISSN 0745-2454) and staying in touch with Middlebury as the four times a year: winter, spring, summer, and fall. future unfolds. — 1 DM © 2006 Middlebury College Publications. Middlebury May^azine is printed at The Lane Press in South Burlington,VT. Nonprofit standard mail postage paid at Middlebury,VT, and at .additional mailing offices (USPS yfi4-82o). POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Middlclmr)' Magazine, Middlebury College, Middlebur)', VT 05753. Printed in U.S.A. M iddlebury M agazine L E T T E R S Whole Again Though I realize that Tara McMenamy Sheahan’s battle with Lyme disease was by no means the sole focus of your article about her courage and strength (“Requiem for a Dream,” winter 2006), 1 was most touched by it and want to thank you for addressing Lyme disease with such accuracy. Though it is a growing health crisis, it is still greatly misunderstood and, as a result, is too often un- and misdiagnosed and under-treated. Like Ms. Sheahan, 1 saw several doctors and suffered myriad neurological, cardiac, reproductive, joint, and psychiatric problems before being diagnosed with disseirdnated/chronic Lyme disease. 1 have been on antibiotics for over two years now and am grateful that I too am able to once again do most things that 1 have always enjoyed (though on a much smaller scale than hers!). Your accurate and poignant portrayal of the ramifications of Lyme disease in a magazine that has such a national reach is Jay for rocking the boat, to the Weybridge TOUCHED BY TARA tremendous and will, 1 feel certain, have folks who got me off the meal plan and We received a number of letters, significant positive consequences. Thank helped to get the new organic garden on e-mails, and phone calls relating to the winter profile of Tara you. campus, and cheers to the administration McMenamy Sheahan '82 Julia Adonis Oj^den ’86, M.A. English ’g6 and the architects for a far more tasteful ("Requiem for a Dream"). B]field, Massachusetts library! Readers wanted to relate their Nic Tuff ’gg own experience battling with Beauty and the Beast(ly) Alexandria, Virginia Lyme disease (see letter at left), John Elder is one of the most wanted to know how to get in INSIGHTFUL, kind men in my life, and his Seize the Day touch with Tara, and wanted to teaching and written works have pro­ 1 READ WITH INTEREST PROFESSOR JOHN request extra copies of the issue foundly influenced my work in educa­ Elder ’s discussion of the economic to share with friends and family. tion. His characterization of Bicentennial benefits to the College in his article on All were touched by Tara's story. Hall (“Into the Wood,” winter 2006) the use of wood from local, sustainable reminds me to focus on the positive. forests in Middlebury’s buildings (“Into Given Bi Hall’s location on my ex- the Wood,” winter 2006). 1 remembered seemed to me that many students were favonte sunset spot on campus, this un- my student days and thinking about the not maintaining a tradition of conserva­ Vermont-scale monstrosity led me (and use—and cost—of energy on campus. tion. It was not unusual to see open dorm many of my classmates and professors) to A glance at the College’s annual expenses windows in January, and it was typically dub it the “Death Star”—after Star Wars reveals that Middlebury’s facilities do not security staff—not students—who turned and the fact that almost aU of the Envi­ cease to be costly when construction ends down the lights in CFA at midnight. ronmental Council’s suggestions were and doors open to a reception of blue Energy conservation in Middlebury’s now rebuked by the College administration. balloons and chocolate medallions with bigger facilities would save the College The article reminds me to focus on the the college seal. a great deal of money. It ought to be successes and the beauty of the natural 1 arrived in Middlebury in 1997, students who lead the effort. world, no matter where it exists, no mat­ around the beginning of the recent build­ Brendan Hogan ’01 ter where we are: Bread Loaf or the ing boom. 1 was reminded that 1 lived and Rochester, !\'eu> York Death Star. Vermont or New York City, in studied on a green campus. 1 still have the a law office or an outdoor classroom. ruler, distributed to first year students, that A Solid Longuoge Plan So “Word” to John Elder for remind­ reads, “Middlebury conserves and recy­ I CONGR.ATUI.ATE MIDDLEBURY FOR ing me of his Zen training, to Nan Jenks- cles: please maintain the tradition.” It AFFILIATING with the Monterey Institute 1’ H O T O C H 1> H BY T E I) W O O D S B KI N G 2006 M iddle BURY College Board of T rustees President Ronald D. Liebowicz Fellows Pamela Tanner Boll ’78 Paula Carr Cummings ’82 James S. Davis ’66. P’o8 William Delahunt ’63, P'97 Donald M. Elliman,Jr. ’67 Frederick M. Fritz ’68. P’95, P’97. P’oo Richard S. Fuld, Jr. P’03, P’07 Nancy CofFrin Furlong ’75. P’02. P'04 Robert C. Graham. Jr. ’63 Beverly L. Hamilton Betty Ashbury Jones, M.A. ’86 James R. Keyes ’71 William H. Kieffer III ’64 Roxanne McCormick Leighton ’67 Patrick L. McConathy P’04, P’05. P’o6 Stephen McDonald Michael C. Obel-Omia ’88 Kimberly Collins Parizeau ’79 Steven B. Peterson ’88 Elisabeth B. Robert ’78 Felix G. Rohatyn ’49 David A. Salem ’78 Jed A. Smith ’88 John Spencer P’88. P'94 Karen A. StoUey ’77 E ndless Learning Deborah G. Thomas ’75 John R.Tormondsen ’82 August 30—September 3, 2006 James Edward Virtue ’82 Marna C. Whittington P'99 Linda Foster Whitton ’80. P’05. P’o8 Kendrick R. Wilson III P’oi. P’03 The following courses will be offered: Italian Culture and Cuisine Emeriti James I. Armstrong Sandra Carletti Mary Williams Brackett ’36 Dort A. Cameron III '67, P'92, P'95. P’oo. P’05 Magic and the Occult in European History Allan R. Dragone, Sr. ’50, P’78. P’8o. P’83. P'86 Paul Monod Churchill G. Franklin ’71, P’02, P’05. P’07 Claire Waterhouse Gargalli ’64 Smart Girls: Women, Intelligence, and History Willard T. Jackson '51 Antonia Losano John M. McCardell, Jr. C. Irving Meeker ’50, P'78 A Geological History of Vermont (outdoor course) Jonathan O’Herron P’8i. P’88 Patricia Judah Palmer ’57, P'89, P'92 David West Milton V. Peterson ’58, P’84. P‘86, P’88 Spain’s Golde}i Age of Art and Literature (taught in Spanish) W Kyle Prescott ’49. P'73. P’76. P’77 Raymond J. Saulnier ’29 Patricia Saldarriaga David E.Thompson ’49. P'72. P'75, P’77 The American Constitution and Civil Liberties in Wartime Robert P.Youngman ’64. P'87, P'90 Murray Dry O fficers of the Corporation Frederick M. Fritz '68, P'95, P'97. P'00, Chair Ronald D. Liebowitz. President For a brochure and further information please visit James S. Davis '66, Vice Chair www.middlebury.edu/alumni or call (802)443-5335. Betty Ashbury Jones, M.A. '86, Vice Chair Betsy Mitchell Etchells ’75. Secretary F. Robert Huth. Jr..Treasurer M iddlebury M agazine Shop Middlebury! ^ Clermont ‘Book. Shop — Since 1949 — Books ♦ CDs ♦ DVDs ♦ Cards Books on tape & CD We welcome special orders and email requests! Open Mon -Sat 9:30-3:30 E-mail: [email protected] ; ■ :■ ; 38 Main Street, Middlebury, VT 05753 Toll Free: (800)287-206 • (802)388-2061 Disappear into a w orld of Fashion w ith GEIGER designs this Spring. Stop in and discover quality clothing at affordable prices at The GEIGER O verstock S tore Purchase the jacket featured in this ad and get 50% off a coordinating blouse or pullover. Offer valid while supplies last. Celebrating our 100th year 1906-2006 38 Pond Lane, Middlebury, VT Open Mon.- Sat. 10-5 1-802-388-3156 ext. 317 1-800-2GEIGER (243-4437) email: [email protected] [ LETTERS of International Studies to further expand his pet cheetah. Dooms, (“Out of Africa, our possibilities in the vast range oflan- winter 2006) 1 wondered why on earth guages and international relations. you put in such a strange photo. Is it a 1 encourage Middlebury to consider picture of someone, possibly Xan, sitting the third prong of a solid language plan— with a fake cheetah? Why not one of the to add or to merge with a fine school of photos of Xan as a child in Kenya with pedagogy, to prepare teachers of world Dooms? It is clear from the article that languages that would cross the age groups there are photos available. That would of preschoolers through college-age have been much more interesting. Perhaps students. I am thinking of a school that you could stick one in next issue. would prepare future teachers to do Lyndall Heyer curriculum writing, maintain high stan­ Stowe, Vermont dards that align with benchmarks, teach with strategies and materials that are Editors’ Note: THE CAT'S MEOW age-appropriate, and finally pump into Yes, that is Xan in the photograph—taken in A reader wanted to see a picture of Xan that the critical thinking that is so infused the screening room on the first floor of the Hopcraft '06 with a live cheetah. How in the Middlebury philosophy. Grille—and yes, the cheetah sitting beside him could we say no? Pictured above is Xan Christ} Rentsch de Moraga ’76, is of the plush-toy species. We considered using and Shalla at the Hopcraft's home in Kenya. Spanish '77 a family photograph of Xan as a youngster, Marlborough, Connecticut accompanied by Dooms, but idtimately decided that this contemporary shot best illustrated the The u/riter is a teacher of French and Spaitisli story. We are pleased to note that Xan was smitten by the stand-in, and graciously accepted Photo Op our offer to keep the toy cheetah. It now resides Reading the interesting Student in his dorm room. Scene article on Xan Hopcraft ’06 and THE ART OF LIFE Retirement is your canvas. Wliat will you paint next.^ At Wake Robin, you may put bmsh to paper to capmre a dramatic sunset, hike on our extensive trails, or listen to a string quartet. Wake Robin, where the days are alive with possibilities. For a free informative brochure, call us or visit our website today. I Vennont’s Only Life Care Retirement Community 200 Wake Robin Drive ■ Shelburne, VT 05482 ■ 802.264.5100 www.wakerobin.com M iddlebury M agazine ïi PLANNING A re you TO RETIRE IN V ermont when you really HIRE? COULD BE PLANNING TO As a Middlebury alum, you know Vermont for its unique beauty, four-season recreation, low crime rates, clean environ­ ment and commitment to strong, vital communities. It's not a surprise to you that National Geographic listed Vermont as one of the world's Njt "50 Places of a Lifetime" - the only state to receive such recognition. So why not consider doing business in Vermont, where the good, old-fashioned work ethic still is alive and well? Yes, Vermont's a great place to retire - and it's a great place to live, to work, and to raise families. We offer customized training programs and whatever assistance you need to help you with your decision. Find out more about expanding your business where your career took its first steps. The next step is yours at www.thinkvermont.com grow. VERM ONT DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT S S c r e e n e d a n d e l e c t e d Contemporary Photography and Video Acquisitions 1999-2005 Through June 4 iW f Middlebury College : M u s e u m of Art imm w w w . m i d d l e b u r y . e d u / u s e u m