Winter/Spring 2020 Magazine

STEM WEEK Inspiring the next

generation of engineers and

scientists. pg. 10 >

SOLEBURY’S ARCHITECTURAL ORIGINS

A brief glimpse into the early days on

campus. pg. 16 >

REUNION WEEKEND 2020

Come home to Solebury School

from May 1-3, 2020! pg. 20>

WINTER / SPRING 2020

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

2019-2020

Elizabeth Wavle P’11 Chair

Dan Cohen ’63 Vice Chair

Derek Warden ’79 Treasurer

Joan Reinthaler ’53 Secretary

Jay Abbe ’59

Andrea Devereux P’14

Jonathan C. Downs ’71 P’03 ’08 ’09

Jeremy Fergusson ’63

Michael Foley P’15 ’16

Andrew Gespass ’73

Tom Hunt ’74 P’16

Heiner Markhoff P’16 ’18

Mandy Mundy

Bill Penney ’67 P’06

Josh Perlsweig ’03

John Petito P’96 ’03

Brett Webber ’85 P’20

Ellen Westheimer ’63

Navarrow Wright ’88 P’16

HEAD OF SCHOOL

Thomas G. Wilschutz

HONORARY TRUSTEES

Chris Chandor ’60 P’86

Alan Donley ’55

Betsy Bidelman Meredith ’54 P’81

Richard Moss ’48

Eric Shaw ’55

Jean Tappan Shaw ’53

COVER:

During STEM Week, students watch as a Roush Yates

EcoBoost engine began to be disassembled. The

students finished the job, then reassembled the

engine under the watchful eyes of the Roush Yates

team. See page 10 for the full story.

THIS PAGE:

CiCi Arnold (daughter of Alumni Relations Manager

Jessica Harms and dorm parent Jamie Arnold)

enjoying the luminaries during Cookies and Carols.

SOLEBURY SCHOOL WINTER/SPRING MAGAZINE

Editor

Jennifer K. Burns P’19

Assistant Head of School:

Advancement and External Affairs


CONTENTS

Contributing Editor

Holly Victor ’89 P’23

Assistant Director of Advancement

Staff Writer

Jeannette Eckhardt

Marketing and Public Relations Manager

Design and Production

Proof Design

Please send change of address to:

SOLEBURY SCHOOL

6832 Phillips Mill Road

New Hope, PA 18938

Phone: 215-862-5261

Fax: 215-862-3366

Email: alumni@solebury.org

© Copyright 2020 Solebury School

CONNECT WITH SOLEBURY SCHOOL

FACEBOOK

Facebook.com/SoleburySchool1925

TWITTER

twitter.com/SoleburySchool

FEATURES

10 STEM Week

Inspiring the next generation of engineers and scientists,

Solebury School’s fifth annual STEM (Science,

Technology, Engineering, and Math) Week incorporated a

number of hands-on and interactive activities.

16 Solebury’s Architectural Origins,

as shared by Andrew Alpern ’56

20 Reunion Weekend 2020

One of the highlights of our year is welcoming

back alumni to campus!

Get all the details for May 1-3, 2020.

YOUTUBE

youtube.com/SoleburySchoolUWatch

INSTAGRAM

@soleburyschool

www.solebury.org

DEPARTMENTS

2 A NOTE FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Checking in with Tom Wilschutz

6 A LOOK BACK

The Limeburner’s Cottage

27 ALMA’S UPDATE

Catch up on alumni news

A NOTE FROM TOM WILSCHUTZ

HEAD OF SCHOOL

large, confined to all-day meetings

focused on the business of the school.

And yet...we are a school, populated

by young people coming of age in the

wonderous environment of Solebury

School. Thus, for our Trustees, this

dinner is a moment to pause their

work and revel in what the business

of Solebury is all about: young people

and their education.

Another goal, a bit more subtly

achieved (I hope), is to introduce our

soon-to-graduate seniors to a dawning

reality: they are about to transition

from Solebury students to Solebury

alumni. We’ll talk a lot more about

what being an alumnus means as

graduation approaches, but this is the

evening when the Trustees invite them

to continue their active participation

in the life of Solebury, up to and

including possibly becoming future

Trustees. Our alumni are truly the

lifeblood coursing through the veins

of this institution.

This February, sixty-two seniors and two postgraduate

students gathered in the Herbert S. Boyd Dining Hall for our

twelfth annual Senior Class and Board of Trustees dinner

(see page 8). This event is easily one of my favorite Solebury moments of each

year and was conceived with several goals in mind. First, to introduce our Trustees

to the finest expression of what outcomes look like for educators—our seniors.

Solebury’s Trustees visit campus at least three times a year, but their visits are, by and

Throughout this issue, you will read

much about our history (looking back)

and our future (looking forward). This

dinner feels the same way to me, it is

both backward and forward-looking.

There are many parts to the evening—

some students are specifically

invited to make a speech, there’s a

delicious meal, the Founders awards

are presented, a Trustee offers the

opening toast. Then comes the part

that I anticipate most: an opportunity

for any senior who wishes to come to

2 The Magazine WINTER / SPRING 2020

the podium and offer a toast to one or

more people who have been especially

important to their journey through

Solebury. The toasts are a powerful

testimonial to the incredible impact

the people of the Solebury community

have on our students. The toasts often

underscore one of my core beliefs:

every adult in this community is an

educator, not just those who stand

before students in a classroom. Yes,

certainly the teachers are toasted

often at this dinner, but so are

coaches, van drivers, dining hall chefs,

advisors who are members of the staff,

administrators—the full range of

adults needed to deliver an education.

As the seniors rise, make their way to

the podium, and offer their toasts, the

Our alumni are truly the lifeblood coursing

through the veins of this institution.

full rainbow of emotions are on display. woman who first journeyed onto the

Laughter as they recount hilarious

Solebury campus.

moments with friends or a teacher.

For twelve years I’ve sat and listened

Tears as they speak about someone

as our seniors regaled us all with their

who has made all the difference in

toasts and reminisces, and for twelve

their journey. There’s often joy as they

years I have been reminded of just how

revel in what a Solebury education

lucky I am to be part of this very special

has meant to them; astonishment at community—a place that changes lives.

how different, and better for them,

I hope you enjoy this issue of Solebury:

Solebury has been. Many times I’ll

The Magazine and the articles looking

hear regret that their journey passed back over the people and places that have

so quickly with the end now in sight made us who we are while looking ahead

and awe at who they have become— to a bright future here on the corner of

transformed—from the young man or Phillips Mill and School Lane.

HELP OUR STUDENTS CONTINUE TO SOAR

Here’s how to make your state tax dollars work

for Solebury School

Qualifying businesses can use Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax

Credit Program (EITC) to redirect their state taxes from the Commonwealth

of Pennsylvania to Solebury School, where they will provide financial

aid for Pennsylvania students who qualify. It’s a terrific, nearly cost-free

opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our students—more than

half of whom receive some form of financial aid. Available tax credits move

quickly through this program so we advise applying on, or as close to, the

application date, as possible.

To learn more, go to solebury.org/EITC


WWW.SOLEBURY.ORG 3

BEYOND THE BOOKS

STRATEGIC STEPS:

Expanding Our Campus

On November 3, Solebury School announced the acquisition

of 50 acres of adjacent land to alumni, parents and friends.

“This is truly a magical moment in the history of Solebury School,” noted Head of School Tom Wilschutz about

this acquisition. “To be able to look ahead with confidence and to…know that, because of the leadership and

courage of the Board of Trustees, along with the support of so many, we have ensured the future of Solebury

School. The land was an important piece of the vision of our founders when they established our school in 1925

and this rolling piece of Pennsylvania countryside was viewed as critical to the DNA of the community they

imagined.” The additional land increases Solebury School’s campus size to 140 acres and allows for expanded

facilities and programming.


TOP: Community Advocate Helen Tai, Solebury Supervisor John Francis, State Senator Steve Santarsiero, Assistant Head of School -

Advancement & External Affairs Jenn Burns, and Solebury Township Supervisor Kevin Morrissey. LEFT: Friends and neighbors toast to

the future of Solebury School. RIGHT: Home & School Association President Colleen Schlegel and her husband Mark Schlegel P’20


WWW.SOLEBURY.ORG 5

A LOOK BACK

HOYT’S PLACE:

The Limeburner’s

Cottage on Campus

BY JILL LAURINAITIS

Of all the interesting elements that make up Solebury

School’s idyllic 140-acre campus, one of our oldest

structures is what was historically known as Hoyt’s Place,

an old stone limeburner’s cottage that became part of

our campus with our recent 50-acre land acquisition.

The cottage was part of Solebury School’s campus in the early

years. It and a number of surrounding acres were acquired

by the Solebury School in 1926, the School’s second year of

operation, and the structure was in ruins. It’s believed that the

cottage had been occupied by a limeburner previously. This was

likely because lime was one of the most important components

in Pennsylvania agriculture in the 18th century. It enriched,

buffered, and prepared soil for the next season’s plantings.

Farmers would purchase stone or quarry it themselves, and then

would move the large bushel slabs to an area of their property for

“burning” in a kiln.

As one of the six original faculty members of Solebury School,

Stephen Hoyt, a Cornell University graduate who served in

World War I in the Navy, joined the faculty in 1927. He played

multiple roles, including that of basketball coach and member of

Solebury’s orchestra. He was the school’s science teacher, and

was known to be extremely versatile and handy, thus making him

the perfect recipient of the one acre of land, near the quarry and

including the wrecked stone limeburner’s cottage. Prior to this,

Stephen lived in a particularly frigid section of the barn on the

main campus.

Stephen soon became engaged to Stanis Hoyne, a nurse at the

school, and he rebuilt the old cottage into a lovely little house,

where the couple lived for 40 years. Stephen and Stanis had one

son, Peter ’49. Their family was integral to the school’s early

community, culture, and identity, as they fostered meaningful ties

among students, staff, faculty, and parents.

Stephen died in the summer of 1967, and Stanis two years later,

in 1969. Son Peter then sold the cottage in 1972, where it had

multiple owners until being re-purchased by Solebury School.

THE LIMEBURNER’S ROLE

IN THE 18TH CENTURY, the Pennsylvania Germans discovered the value of lime as a soil amendment, and many farmers had a

lime kiln on their farms. These kilns were typically built out of flat local stones and were usually located along a steep hillside or in

a wooded section of the property that was not appropriate for growing crops.

Whatever the use, for farming, for health, or for small fix-it jobs, the entire process of getting lime powder was time consuming.

The entire process of obtaining the lime from a quarry and breaking it up into smaller stones, loading the pieces into a kiln, building

a large fire that needed constant attention for one week, and spreading the powder by hand in farm fields was labor intensive.

SOURCE: Monroe County Historical Association


IN MEMORIAM

a tribute to robin aipel

BY SCOTT ECKSTEIN P’22, DIRECTOR OF ADMISSION AND FINANCIAL AID

Robin Aipel liked to help things grow. She would

plant and water, feed and prune so that our trees,

flower beds, and the like would thrive. The results of

her labor, and truly her legacy, are all over Solebury’s

campus and enjoyed every day here. From my office

window alone, I can look at three trees that Robin

planted and nurtured. However, it wasn’t simply the

flora that she helped grow.

My love for Solebury was kindled in part by her. It is not hyperbole

to say that in this way, Robin profoundly changed my life.

There would have been nothing I could have said to Robin that

would make her believe the influence she had on me. She was

among the most modest people I’ve ever met. She would have

denied the impact she had on the school or how important she was.

She would have shrugged it off with her wonderful laugh. Sadly,

she too often saw herself as “just part of the maintenance team.”

In fact, Robin was the kind of person who connected those around

her. Her kindness and her generosity of spirit were contagious and

helped make Solebury a community, rather than simply a school.

I’m now 48, and I’ve been at Solebury for 27 years. Like the plants

she lovingly cared for around campus, she helped me take root

here and to grow. Solebury was better because of her presence and

her work here. And so am I.

Robin and Pete Aipel

I came to Solebury School as a 21-year-old, fresh out of college and

knowing nothing about boarding schools. I was blessed to have many

mentors early in my career, and Robin was definitely one of them.

Watching Robin go about her job, I learned what it meant to throw

yourself fully into your work. I learned that working hard could

be done while laughing a lot. Most of all though, I learned what it

meant to love a place deeply. Robin loved Solebury School. She loved

the serenity of the campus. She loved the moments she had with the

students. She loved doing all she could to help the school be its best.

Robin Aipel passed away in September 2019, leaving

behind a loving family including her beloved Pete, who was

also a member of Solebury School’s maintenance team.

Over the next year, Solebury School will establish the

Robin Aipel Memorial Grove in her honor, filled with

plants and trees that she would have loved. For more

information on this project or to make a contribution in

Robin’s honor, please contact Jennifer K. Burns, Assistant

Head of School - Advancement, at jburns@solebury.org.


WWW.SOLEBURY.ORG 7

BEYOND THE BOOKS

THE 12TH ANNUAL

SENIOR CLASS AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES DINNER

FEBRUARY 7, 2020

Our annual Senior Class and Board of Trustees Dinner is one of Solebury’s

most memorable, heartwarming events. Seniors connect with members of

Solebury School’s Board of Trustees over a delicious, family-style meal served

by volunteers from the classes of 2023, 2022, and 2021.

In her speech, Anna Schmidt ’20 reflected on how special our school and our community are,

contrasting it to her previous experience, where she felt like a number and not a person. “This

is the place I learned what it meant to be me,” Anna shared, ”All of these relationships and

friendships that we’ve built over the last few years have taught me valuable lessons and have

helped mold me into the person I am today. These lessons are going to stay with me every day...

We are all unique people and that’s what makes this place so special. At Solebury I discovered

myself. So thank you, students, teachers, friends for helping me develop into the person who I

am today.” Nash McBride ’20 and Junpeng Jupiter Shi ’20 were also featured speakers.

ABOVE: Safwa Ozair ’20 toasts her fellow classmates. TOP RIGHT: Board Chair Liz Wavle

P’11 pins Heath Yatvin ’20 MIDDLE RIGHT: Aidan Holtz ’20 BOTTOM RIGHT: Board member

Mandy Mundy cheers with her tablemates


At the dinner, Head of School Tom

Wilschutz announced the winners

of Solebury’s prestigious Founders

Awards. Congratulations to this

year’s winners:

Laurie Erskine Award for Literature:

FLETCHER DAVIS ’20

Arthur H. Washburn Award for Math:

NICOLAS ARNOLD ’20, SHIZHEN LIU ’20,

AND HAOKAI KEVIN ZHOU ’20

Arthur H. Washburn Award for Science:

SHIZHEN LIU ’20 AND HAOKAI KEVIN ZHOU ’20

The Founders Award for Language:

SAFWA OZAIR ’20 AND DOMINIQUE WANDER ’20

Julian L. Lathrop Award for Social Science:

ISAIAH GINSBERG-HENRY ’20

Karline Holmquist Award in Performing Arts:

BRIAN WEDDERBURN ’20 AND AVA SMITH ’20

Karline Holmquist Award in Visual Arts:

JUNPENG JUPITER SHI ’20

FROM TOP: a view from the Dining Hall MIDDLE LEFT: Dominique Wander ’20

MIDDLE RIGHT: Enjoying the speeches BOTTOM: David Rosenbaum ’20,

Alex Doogah ’20, Christian Yates ’20, Cate Cole ’20, and Rebecca Morgovsky ’20

Duke Ellington Award:

NASH MCBRIDE ’20, OWEN GRAHAM ’20,

AND HAOKAI KEVIN ZHOU ’20


WWW.SOLEBURY.ORG 9

RACE CARS, COFFEE ROASTING,

and RATIONAL NUMBERS

Inspiring the next generation of

engineers and scientists, Solebury

School’s fifth annual STEM (Science,

Technology, Engineering, and Math)

Week incorporated a number of hands-on

and interactive activities. Ultimately, the

goal of the week is to encourage further

study and inspire careers in STEM fields

by making the four disciplines interesting

and accessible.

WEEK

AT SOLEBURY

BY JEANNETTE ECKHARDT

Jamie Arnold of Folk City Roasters shares

the science behind a good coffee pour-over

with Gianluca Sturla ’20

Leo Mokriski ’22, Jimmy Thompson ’22, and Tyler Scotti ’21 watch as Javon Brewster ’22 and

Omari Thevenin ’22 disassemble a Roush Yates EcoBoost engine.

This fall’s STEM Week offered a wide

variety of presentations and activities.

From dismantling and building race

car engines to learning how to breed

plants, students gained insight into

many fascinating industries. There

were great opportunities for hands-on

learning with field trips, coffee roasting,

assessing biodiversity in a creek, creating

candy equations, and more. The week

ended with a school-wide STEM activity

designed to foster collaboration, out-ofthe-box

thinking, and of course, science

and math skills. During this campus-wide

scavenger hunt, small student groups

worked together to answer STEM-related

questions and, based on the answer to


Students skype with Eric Miller, an aviation consultant with Kitty Hawk, a company that is working to “create the next generation of vehicles for

everyday flight”—i.e. flying cars.

the question, determined where to go

next. For example, students were asked

to find the sum of the atomic numbers

of all the noble gases. Then prime factor

that number. Figure out how many prime

factors it has, call that number “Z,” and

head to room Abbe-Z. Could you figure it

out? Each team completed 12 stages, then

were challenged to build a paper airplane

that could fly the furthest for the win!

A highlight of the week was the opportunity

to explore and examine the inner workings

of a Roush Yates EcoBoost engine. The

EcoBoost engine is used in street cars for

road racing and in endurance races. The

team also brought an FR9 which is an

engine used in many NASCAR race cars.

LEFT: Whitney and Doug Yates P’20 with their son Christian ’20 standing behind a

Roush Yates EcoBoost engine. RIGHT: Students learn about the physics of flying

with Bill Brady P’13.

In addition to getting their hands dirty,

students had the opportunity to hear from

Doug Yates P’20, President and CEO of

Roush Yates Engines, who has worked

in the motorsports industry for over 30

years. Doug’s dedication to the company

is no accident—he is growing a legacy that

was started by his father, the legendary

engine builder Robert Yates GP’20. At a

school-wide assembly, Doug dove into the

history of Roush Yates and how his family

joined the motorsports industry. Roush

Yates Engines is recognized around the

world as one of the most successful highperformance

engine developers of modern

time. The company is the exclusive

engine builder to Ford Performance for

the Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series,

Nascar Xfinity Series, IMSA WeatherTech

Sportscar Championship, IMSA Michelin

Pilot Challenge, and the FIA World

Endurance Championship.


WWW.SOLEBURY.ORG 11

SUMMER 2020 TEEN

ENRICHMENT PROGRAM

Interested in Robotics? Music?

Debate? At Solebury School you

can explore all that and more

in our one-and two-week

summer sessions!

ONE WEEK COURSES allow for you to dive deep

into a topic of interest.

Students, faculty, and staff working on clues in the school-wide

scavenger hunt.

Many thanks to all of our presenters who

made this year’s STEM week great:

Jamie Arnold, Folk City Roasters

Bill Brady P’13

Ben Bunting ’20

Dr. Linda Chaille-Arnold P’20

Michael Chapman and Chapman Ford

Francis Collins

Carol Cope

Sarah Dohle, PhD

Karen McKenna P’11 MBA RPh

Eric Miller, Aviation Consultant

Philadelphia Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion

Primrose Creek Watershed Association

Dr. Ted Robinson & Native American Veterinary Services

Doug Yates P’20 & Roush Yates Engines

Christian Yates ’20

TWO WEEK COURSES give you the option to sign

up for three different classes based on your interests

along with students from around the world! Small

class sizes offer personal attention and support. For

those interested in Photo or Rock Climbing, take a

two-week immersion class.

BOARDING STUDENTS stay overnight and extend

their day with fun and interesting activities both on

and off campus.

ONE WEEK COURSES

JULY 20-24, 2020

ANATOMY IN CLAY

Did you know Art and Science are best friends? Spend a week

learning how these two fields of study intersect with each

other—build models on the body, take field trips, and create

clay portraits. Co-taught by an Anatomy and an Art teacher, this

fascinating class is limited to 12 students and open to all rising 9th-

12th grade students. No experience necessary. Younger students

will be considered by recommendation.

Rising 9th-12th grade


DIGITAL FILMMAKING WORKSHOP

Learn to write, direct, film, and light short films like a pro for Docs,

YouTube, or the Big Screen. Taught by Solebury School’s Film teacher

Brian Pearson, students will develop a timeline, create a script, and

perform all the jobs of a small film production crew including: Actor,

Director, Camera Operator, Sound Person Gaffer, and Grip. At the end

of the week each student will leave with a project they can be proud of!


SONGWRITER WORKSHOP

What makes a good song? What makes a good lyric? Trending in the

music industry, songwriting workshops offer teens the opportunity to

gather with a group to write songs. Taught by renowned musician (and

Solebury’s own) Cathy Block, students will be given prompts to write

from, and will collaborate as they develop the ability to be a critical

listener of established songwriters. Though not required, it would be

helpful if students have some familiarity with playing an instrument,

particularly guitar or piano.


US HISTORY UP CLOSE

Take a one week crash course on US History with a STEM twist, taking

full advantage of this historic area. Hike in the footsteps of soldiers from

the Revolutionary War, see where the Declaration of Independence

was signed, and learn up close the significance of the Statue of Liberty.

Then, using technology from the IDEA Lab, engineer what you learned

and experienced into a work of art. Co-taught by a History and a STEM

teacher. All one week classes will have a culminating gallery viewing at

the end of the week.


TWO WEEK COURSES

JULY 27-AUGUST 7, 2020

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Students explore the craft of digital photography through a hands-on

approach to composing, lighting, and manually using all the settings

on their cameras in a variety of field trips. Both color and black/white

photography will be explored. At the end of this course students will

have group discussions about their work and what they feel they have

learned and also receive an introduction to Photoshop and Lightroom

workflow. Students will print images to fully encompass the digital print

process from beginning to end. Taught by a professional photographer.

Rising 7th-9th graders

ROCK CLIMBING IMMERSION

Students will learn to set anchors in different settings, knot tying

methods, belay techniques, and climbing. Students will be taken to High

Rocks Vista for roped climbing, to Haycock Mountain for bouldering, and

also the Doylestown Rock Gym. They will study the science behind rock

climbing, exploring the geology of the rocks they climb as well as other

rock types most popularly climbed throughout the world. Students will

learn the mathematics and physics involved, such as the relationship

between forces on the climber and the need for dynamic ropes and the

forces involved in other safety equipment. This hands-on experience will

be combined with exposure to professional climbing videos centering

on the world’s most well known climbers. Students will then use this

as inspiration to make their own climbing video to document their

experiences in the course. No rock climbing experience needed. Cotaught

by a math and a science teacher.


“PICK 3” COURSES

All two-week “Pick 3” classes are open to rising 7th-12th graders.

Students pick 3 classes to take over the course of the two weeks. 90

minute classes run Monday-Friday.

STEM: Engineering

STEM: Robotics

STEM: Video Game Design

Public Speaking & Debate

MUSIC: Greatest Bands of All Time

MUSIC: Writing & Arranging Music

MUSIC: Studio Music Scoring

English as a Second Language

For more information or to register,

go to solebury.org/summer


WWW.SOLEBURY.ORG 13

UNDERSTANDING CALCULATIONS:

Financial Math for Life

BY DAVID MEROLA

A relevant education, that’s a key component of Solebury School’s

Statement of Philosophy and Objectives. With all the complicated

facets of our economy hinging heavily on mathematical

understanding, the administration at Solebury School asked the

mathematics department to come up with a course that met this

need for our students, providing them with a relevant education by

filling a need for student learning in the area of finance.

Having previously constructed a curriculum for the Johns Hopkins

Center for Talented Youth summer programs, I chose to take

on the challenge of creating a similar course suited for the high

school level. Nearly all of the students who take the course have

been seniors, which makes sense as they prepare for greater

independence and new responsibilities including managing their

money in a bank account and having a credit card.

The course touches on business, finance, and economics, all the

while maintaining focus on the math skills that accompany those

areas. Specifically we work through units of study on the stock

market, business modeling, business management, banking,

interest, annuities, and credit. Each unit provides a wealth

of opportunity for creating formulas, seeing specific and real

examples, doing research to find those examples, and doing some

good old-fashioned number crunching.

This course is unique in that we do not have to cover any specific

amount of pre-determined content. We are not bound by an

Advanced Placement (AP) test and there are no other courses

that directly build off of this one in our high school curriculum.

Consequently, student interest and ability has a significant impact

on the pace and content of the course. It is all about quality of

understanding, not quantity of material covered.

The course is discussion based and students often discuss the

concepts and share examples from their own experience before

any thought of calculation comes into play. Students are often

surprised to be doing algebra as they write spreadsheet formulas

for real-life situations. After years of seeing a variable as “x” and

wondering what that means, now they see dollars in the cells of a

spreadsheet and understand how to formulate an answer.

Another key aspect of the course is partner work and

collaboration. Student learning is assessed through projects and

presentations and they are encouraged to work together on them.

For instance, in our “business modeling” unit, students work in

pairs to imagine a new product, research and estimate its costs,

and then use a market survey to establish a demand graph. With

all this data, they continue to work together to create modeling

equations that they can then use to calculate a price point for

maximum profit. The students usually have a lot of fun with it

as they create catchy marketing phrases to entice their peers to

“buy” their product.

Despite all these cool, interesting, and relevant applications

to our modern world, I always remind the students that, in the

end, this is a mathematics course. All of our work is presented

in the context of business and finance, but mathematical

understanding is the number one goal. As a result, we do not

simply apply formulas (think: interest or annuities) but instead

work to understand and see patterns. Then we make our own

formulas and use them. It always drives me crazy to pick up a

business math textbook, flip to the section on “Net Present Value

of an Annuity” and see it outline how to make calculations using

a strange looking formula that comes out of nowhere and with

no justification or understanding of what is being put into that

formula. Another common example: have you seen the formula

used to calculate the monthly payments for a mortgage? Maybe

not because it is complicated and you can use a pre-made widget

online to take the given values for each parameter (value of home,

years to repay, interest rate) and then it automatically tells you

what the estimated monthly payment. But the mathematics of

how that formula is actually working is very instructive…and

really cool!

The goal is to grow the student’s understanding of the

mathematics surrounding our financial decisions. This is different

from the goal being to simply train the students how to make

certain calculations. We need humans to do the former, because

robots can do the latter.


Residential Life:

WEEKENDS


Being a boarding school means that our weekend activities are

just as robust and diverse as our weekday course offerings,

enrichment opportunities, and experiences. At Solebury,

weekends are a time for students not only to catch up on

schoolwork, but also a time to see friends, participate in

extracurriculars, and have some fun. Weekends aren’t just for

boarders—our weekend activities have expanded to include

more day students in regularly scheduled events.

Co-Directors of Student Activities Peter Martino and Kristina

Bauman explained, “When approaching weekend activities, we

like to keep our finger on the pulse of what is of interest to our

student body. This year we’ve had a lot more student input for

planning activities and therefore a higher participation rate for

many of our trips.”

Some weekend highlights that took students off-campus this

year include an outing to an amusement park, a trip to NYC

to see a Broadway show, a community service opportunity

at a cat sanctuary, and a trip to a pop-up Instagram-able art

installation. On-campus offerings have included a day of

Harry Potter-themed events, a sushi-making dinner, a baking

competition in the style of the Netflix hit show “Nailed It,”

and a mobile escape room here on campus. To meet the

needs of our diverse population, Peter and Kristina provide a

wide array of activities each weekend.

Boarder Emily Braun ’20 shared, “Peter and Kristina do an

amazing job coordinating weekend activities. They actively

listen to student feedback and schedule activities that we

legitimately enjoy. The fact that they schedule such good

activities means many people choose to go on them, even

when it is not a community weekend. It makes it easy to have

fun with other boarders, and it makes it so that weekends are

never boring.”

TOP: Seeing Mean Girls on Broadway

MIDDLE LEFT: Charlie Goodman ’20 captures a selfie

with Kyle Selig of Mean Girls MIDDLE RIGHT: Ice Skating

in Flemington, NJ BOTTOM LEFT: Nailed It! In the Dining

Hall BOTTOM RIGHT: Taking a photo on the NJ/PA line

for the community weekend scavenger hunt


WWW.SOLEBURY.ORG 15

SOLEBURY’S

ARCHITECTURAL

ORIGINS

BY ANDREW ALPERN ’56

Andrew Alpern’s knowledge of the origins of Solebury School is

legendary. We asked him to give our readers a brief glimpse into

the early days on campus and some of the changes he’s seen.

ENJOY THE TOUR!

Dale Carnegie was right. First impressions do count. I was a pseudo-sophisticated

15-year-old, raised in the concrete-and-high-rise environment of Manhattan, but

tired of battling with my two brothers and wanting to experience during the

school term the independence and freedom I felt when away at summer camp

each year. After we turned in past the modestly old-fashioned sign, the allée of

stately old trees seemed too grand to flank such a bumpy driveway. I whispered

that I liked the place already. It reminded me of the country houses of some of

our friends, surrounded by old trees and the weathered old stone walls of New

England. It seemed to be a non-threatening place that had been there for a long

time and had settled comfortably into the landscape.

At that point in my life I didn’t have the

architectural knowledge to recognize that it

had indeed been there for a very long time. The

building where I was interviewed was called the

House for good reason, as it had been constructed

as a farmhouse back around 1740 or thereabouts.

It was successively enlarged to the east three

times during the 18th century. Late in the 19th

century, large triangular dormers were added

to make the attic floor functional for living, and

it was in that state that the Solebury founders

bought it in 1926.

16 The Magazine


Those four young men whose collective vision underpinned the school had

little money, but they knew they could substitute hard work for ready cash,

so they were content to buy a property that didn’t appear to be suitable

and then convert it for use as a school. The 114+ acres they bought had

been part of the huge land grant from the King of England to William Penn.

Penn in turn had granted a portion of that land to an ancestor of George

H. Ely. An early Ely had built the small stone house that he and later Elys

expanded into Solebury’s House. Later, the Ely’s sold to Hugh Michener,

who then sold it to the founders of Solebury School. Underneath its stucco

coating, what now serves as an administration building has stone walls, built

of rocks taken originally from the property. Stone-wall construction was a

practical solution to a vexing problem. Settlers in Bucks County in the 18th

century needed to grow crops to feed their families and to sell. But before

they could cultivate the fertile ground, they first had to remove a huge

number of rocks that would have destroyed their plows and made farming

all but impossible. As the piles of rocks grew higher, they became obvious

building material -- on site already and at no cost.

The huge stone barn on Solebury’s property was

erected somewhere around 1830 or so. By the time

the school acquired it, several wood extensions

had been built onto that core structure, with stone

foundations and additional stone walls erected where

they were needed to create a barnyard to confine the

farm animals.

In addition to the House and the Barn, the property

included a chicken coop, a pig sty, and a fair-sized

structure that was a combined corn crib and twostory

carriage house.

Almost immediately after the property was acquired, the cornflanked

carriage house was substantially renovated to create

a dining hall with a proper fireplace to heat it. A kitchen was

constructed directly adjoining, with accommodations for the

cooking staff on the existing floor above. The chicken coop was

superfluous and was unceremoniously demolished, but the pig

sty was converted to a spacious cottage for one of the founders.


WWW.SOLEBURY.ORG 17

Solebury’s Architectural Origins

continued

Not long after, a wood extension on the north side of the stone

barn was expanded to provide two floors of dormitory rooms

for the expanding student body. At this point the campus

of the school consisted of three major buildings, plus the

formerly-porcine faculty cottage. The House is at the right,

and the large Barn with its new addition is at the left, with the

dining room between them.

The original wood wing that extended south from the stone barn

had been immediately converted to classrooms on the ground

floor with dorm rooms on the floor above. When additional

classrooms were needed, another extension to the barn was

constructed to the east, which necessitated chopping a hole in the

massive stone walls to accommodate a doorway. The lintel over

that opening was a large white oak timber that had been salvaged

from the original barn reconstruction work. The many substantial

white oak beams supporting the barn roof and its appendages

dated to the period of 1830 to 1850, according to a local historian.

In this photograph of the classroom extension under construction,

a partial third floor is evident, which was created at the former

attic level to provide a small apartment for Herbert Stuart Boyd,

who had joined the four founders to provide much-needed

business acumen and to serve as the school’s treasurer. My first

dorm room at Solebury was Uncle Herb’s old living room.

In addition to acting as the school’s business manager and looking after its

meager and fitful finances, Uncle Herb taught woodworking. After a while,

he embarked on a project that would provide a significantly expanded

teaching workshop for the school, along with a more spacious home for

himself. He designed and paid for yet another add-on to the architectural

amalgam of the Solebury barn, which accentuated the organic appearance

of the building. On the lower floor he built a well-equipped shop, and

on the upper floor an apartment with a monastically austere bedroom,

a private bathroom (perhaps the impetus for the whole project, as he

previously had to use the communal student showers on the floor below

his earlier apartment), and a large, gracious, high-ceilinged living room

with a fireplace that had a lovely piece of stained glass set into the wall

above the mantelpiece. The glass by Valentine d’Ogries depicting

St. Bridget of Sweden can still be seen on campus today.

Looking towards the east, a corner of the House is

at the left, the small entrance to the dining room,

and then the massive Barn with its “family” of

additions clustering around it.


The cavernous interior of the Barn could

just barely accommodate a regulation-sized

basketball court, so it served as the school’s

gymnasium, a role it filled for 25 years.

This changed in 1949, when the “New” Gym was built. It was

designed by Solebury alumnus William Hunt (class of 1935) in

an imaginative and visually distinctive way whose reason was

economic, rather than aesthetic or athletic. Because the school’s

budget for the project was wholly inadequate for an ordinary

gym, Hunt, his local engineer (Morgan Rulon), and the contractor

(Robert Lamb & Son … the son being Walter Lamb, class of 1934)

jointly brainstormed possible design approaches. What resulted

was a building so distinctive that it was featured in Architectural

Record, a national professional journal. With the school’s

maintenance man Jake Propsner and some student helpers

responsible for building the wing containing the lockers and

showers to save on costs, the entire building came in at $60,000.

The design of the New Gym resembles the

inside of an upside-down wooden ship.

It’s essentially a very simple structure with

no columns. The roof is held up by curved

wood beams built up of multiple layers of

wood bolted together and sitting on a steelreinforced

concrete slab with no basement.

With the barn no longer to be used as an athletic space, its

function changed to a meeting room with space in one corner

for a billiard table, although the old basketball backboard

remained. Ironically, the old racing sculls that hung from the

roof now mimicked the structural form of the New Gym. With

the construction of the New-New Gym (The Athletic Center)

in the 21st century, the Old-New Gym (Alumni Memorial Gym,

now PAC) became a student center and meeting room, with

the Old-Old Gym being reconstructed as a black-box theatre

(the Barn Theater).


WWW.SOLEBURY.ORG 19

ALUMNI NEWS

Solebury School

2020

Reunion Weekend

Come back to campus

to reconnect and

reminisce with your

fellow Solebury School

alums this spring!

PLEASE RSVP AT

solebury.org/reunion2020

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

FRIDAY, MAY 1

1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

REGISTRATION

School memorabilia available for purchase.

1:40 pm - 3:00 pm

BACK TO CLASS

Check out what classes at Solebury look like today.

See website for most up-to-date list of classroom offerings.

6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

ALUMNI RECEPTION CARAVAN IN LAMBERTVILLE

Join us for wine, beer, and appetizers while catching up

with your classmates.

SATURDAY, MAY 2

9:30 am - 2:30 pm

REGISTRATION

School memorabilia will be

available for purchase.

9:30 am - 3:00 pm

CAMPUS TOURS

Student-led tours of campus

available.

10:00 am - 11:00 am

MEMORIAL SERVICE

Honor the memory of alumni

and friends of Solebury School

who are recently deceased.

11:00 am - 12:00 pm

STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE

Head of School Tom Wilschutz

discusses the State of the School.

Q&A to follow.

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

BRUNCH IN THE DINING HALL

SUNDAY, MAY 3

11:00 am - 12:00 pm

FAREWELL BRUNCH

Join your classmates for a farewell brunch!

1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME

CEREMONY

Join us as we induct the

Class of 2020 into the

Athletic Hall of Fame.

2:30 pm - 4:30 pm

BURGER AND BEER BASH

A relaxed, super-fun party

benefiting Solebury’s Page and

Otto Marx Jr. Endowed Fund.

$10.00 suggested donation

6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

SOLEBURY’S ANNUAL

AUCTION AT

LAMBERTVILLE STATION

MARDI GRAS IN MAY

Join us for an evening of dinner,

drinks, dancing, and fundraising

for the next generation of

Solebury students!

$125 per person,

reservations required.


ALUMNI NEWS

ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME 2020 INDUCTION CEREMONY

SATURDAY, MAY 2, 2020 • 1:00PM

ATHLETIC CENTER

LAURA LACY ’11 • GREGORY A. LEWIS II ’04

Please join us as we induct these remarkable athletes into the Athletic Hall of Fame

and honor their contributions to Solebury School’s Athletic Program!

A L U M N I

SATURDAY, MAY 2, 2020 • 2:30 - 4:30PM

$10.00 suggested donation

A can’t-miss event that supports a great cause! All of the proceeds from the Burger & Beer Bash go to Solebury’s Page and

Otto Marx Jr. Endowed Fund, which provides tuition assistance to students of color with demonstrated financial need.

This school year, the fund awarded more than $60,000 in financial assistance to Solebury students. Marx Scholarship recipients

have gone on to attend a number of prestigious colleges, including Haverford, Morehouse, Bryn Mawr, and Smith.

Join us at the Burger and Beer Bash and support our students!


WWW.SOLEBURY.ORG 21

SOLEBURY SCHOOL AUCTION

SATURDAY, MAY 2, 2020 • 6:00-10:00 PM

LAMBERTVILLE STATION’S RIVERSIDE BALLROOM

LAMBERTVILLE, NEW JERSEY

Masks and themed attire are encouraged!

LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULER!

Grab your mask and beads and join us for Solebury School’s annual auction! Guests will enjoy a fabulous

night of reveling in the sights, sounds, and tastes of The Big Easy while providing vital support for the

educational program at Solebury. Let the good times roll with live and silent auctions, cocktails, dinner,

dancing, and the best view along the Delaware River from the Lambertville Station’s Riverside Ballroom.

Hosted by the Home and School Association, our annual auction is the school’s largest fundraising event,

supporting educational programs, student activities, and facility improvements at Solebury School.

RÉPONDEZ S’IL VOUS PLAÎT

Send in your reply card (invitations were mailed recently) or reply online at solebury.org/auction.

Please contact Auction Manager Christine Thiel at cthiel@solebury.org with questions or to make a donation.

solebury.org/auction


AUCTION 2020 SPECIAL APPEAL

THE PAC

BRINGING COMFORT TO THE HEART OF SOLEBURY’S CAMPUS

In 1949, William Hunt ’35 P’71 ’74 ’76 GP’16 gave his alma mater a

very special gift—his architectural expertise. Hunt had moved

on from Solebury to study architecture at Princeton University

and MIT before helping to design military installations during

World War II.

As the War wound down, Solebury needed a new gymnasium

for a growing student population, but struggled to find an

economical design. With Hunt’s help, Solebury found a solution

to its building problem and soon after, the Alumni Memorial

Gymnasium was dedicated. The structure was lauded in the

July 1949 issue of Architectural Record as innovative for its

time and “a direct expression of the requirements of function

and construction.”

No longer a gymnasium, Hunt’s building lives on as Solebury’s

Performing Arts Center or as many affectionately call it,

“the PAC.” While the purpose of this building has changed,

Solebury’s commitment to using our resources and spaces

efficiently has remained constant.

Today’s PAC is a hub of campus activity. It is one of the few

spaces on campus large enough to bring the entire community

together under one roof, which it does for everything from

concerts and dance recitals to coffee houses, assemblies, and

more. It has hosted political figures, world-renowned artists

and scholars, as well as generations of Solebury athletes,

performers, campers, and students.

This year’s Special Appeal will make essential improvements

to one of Solebury’s most important spaces, by making it

usable and comfortable year-round. Funds raised will be used

to purchase and install a brand new climate control system

for the PAC. This project will improve air delivery throughout

the hall and keep the space cozier during the coldest weeks

of winter and comfortably cool and less humid in the spring,

summer, and fall.

With enhanced climate control, the versatility and usefulness of

the PAC will increase dramatically with expanded possibilities

for performances, assemblies, and other gatherings during

the academic year and for our summer programs. With your

help through the Special Appeal, we hope to have this muchneeded

enhancement to a building at the very heart of our

campus completed before the start of the 2020-21 school year.

WHAT IS A SPECIAL APPEAL?

Each year during the live auction, we seek donations to fund a designated program or project on campus. Last spring,

the Special Appeal raised funds to create the IDEA Lab, Solebury’s brand new creative space for scientific learning.

Other past projects have included an LED-based lighting system for the Barn Theater, as well as the Home and School

Association’s Above & Beyond Award for Faculty and Staff.

Please consider attending the auction and donating to the Special Appeal. If you are not able to attend the auction,

you can still support the Special Appeal by making your gift online at solebury.org/auction.

Solebury School is a 501 (c)(3) corporation and all Special Appeal contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.


WWW.SOLEBURY.ORG 23

ENDOWED FUNDS

Create New Opportunities

for Students


Endowment gifts create lasting legacies of opportunity for future generations of Soleburians.

They form a financial foundation that strong schools are built upon, providing ongoing income that helps

fund scholarships, faculty salaries, professional development, prizes, enhancements to our physical plant,

general operating expenses and much more. Many friends of Solebury School have made leadership

contributions to the school by establishing an endowment or specific fund. This year, two Solebury families

each made legacy gifts that join our family of endowment funds and provide ongoing support for the school.


The Zoe Chanler Sharpe ’19

ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP FUND

The Sharpe family thoughtfully chose to support Solebury School

and its Theater Tech program by creating The Zoe Chanler

Sharpe Endowed Scholarship Fund. The Sharpe family and the

estate of Doris J. Lombardo sought to support independent and

strong female students at Solebury School who are learning to

find their place in the world, specifically through Theater Tech.

This endowed fund provides scholarship support for a female

student in 10th, 11th, or 12th grade with demonstrated financial

need and a clear interest in Solebury’s Theater Tech program.

The Susan Hirschfeld Eckstein GP’22

MEMORIAL PRIZE

The Susan Hirschfeld Eckstein Memorial Prize recognizes

dedication and achievement in the visual arts by a Solebury

School Senior or recent graduate. This award was created in

2019 by Susan’s partner, Marty Rosen, to honor her lifetime of

kindness and caring for others. “I decided to make my donation

to honor Susan’s legacy as a talented artist and most importantly

as a wonderful human being who tirelessly cared for and helped

people,” said Marty. “I hope it helps to support and encourage

young artists to follow their dreams as they use their creative

talents to expand their artistic horizons. I also hope that each

recipient has a vision for using their creative talent to help

make our world a better place to live, much like Susan did.”

Susan Eckstein is survived by her children, Scott Eckstein P’22,

Solebury’s Director of Admission, and Julie Laing, Solebury’s

School Counselor, and her four grandchildren.

Chanler Sharpe ’19 was excited to learn that her grandmother’s

memory will live on through this fund and shared, “I hope for this

fund to inspire the same love that I found, both in the theater and

Solebury itself. Solebury has such a unique and amazing community

and it shaped me into the person I am today. I want everyone to

be able to experience the pure love that is Solebury, a place I love

so much.” Chanler is currently studying Design, Technology, and

Management with a concentration in Stage Management at Wagner

College. She hopes to one day work on Broadway, and eventually

come back to Solebury to teach in the theater.

This scholarship will begin making awards during the 2022-2023

school year.

The inaugural prize for The Susan Hirschfeld Eckstein Memorial

Prize will be awarded in May 2020. Eligible candidates will be

identified by a committee and the winner will receive a stipend in

addition to ongoing recognition on a plaque that will be installed

on campus.

FOR MORE INFORMATION on these endowed funds or to make

a contribution, please contact Jennifer K. Burns, Assistant Head

of School - Advancement, at jburns@solebury.org.


WWW.SOLEBURY.ORG 25

ALUMNI NEWS

YOUNG ALUMNI DAY

JANUARY 8, 2020

BY JESSICA HARMS, ALUMNI RELATIONS MANAGER

Each year, we welcome Solebury’s Young

Alumni back on campus in early January. On

Wednesday, January 8, our Advancement

Team, staff, and faculty members welcomed

back almost fifty recent grads in Walter

Lamb Lounge. Among them were many

alumni from the Class of 2019; we were

happy to hear that Solebury had prepared

them well for the rigors of college and that so

many of them continued to stay in touch with

Solebury faculty and friends.

FROM TOP: Emily Hubbs ’19, Hannah Goulding ’18, Jake Epstein

’18, and Jillian Vander Zwan ’19 SECOND ROW LEFT: Amy Chen

’19 and Erik Daughterman ’18, both majoring in Musical Theater at

the University of the Arts and Shenandoah University, respectively.

SECOND ROW RIGHT: Eliza McCleery ’19 THIRD ROW LEFT:

Lucas Leguizamo ’19 THIRD ROW RIGHT: Johana Karbanova ’19

and Marin Krob ’19, pictured here with Alumni Relations Manager

Jessica Harms, traveled all the way from the Czech Republic!

FOURTH ROW LEFT: Lulu Talerico ’19 catches up with Head of

School, Tom Wilschutz FOURTH ROW RIGHT: Sasha Guzman ’19,

Isaiah Ginsburg-Henry ’20, and Julianna Tes ’20 BOTTOM: Noah

Sadoff ’16, Kate Voynow ’16, and Joshua Reinstein ’15


ALUMNI NEWS AND CLASS NOTES

ALMA’S UPDATE

SUBMIT A CLASS NOTE

MAIL:

Solebury School

Attn: The Alumni Office


New Hope, PA 18938

E-MAIL:

alumni@solebury.org

Class Notes are edited for length and clarity,

and they will be published online.

CLASS OF 1950

ERICA CHILD PRUD’HOMME ’50 lives with

her husband Hector in West Cornwall CT,

an area not unlike Bucks County with many

farms and artists. Hector is involved in local

civic projects and Erica is still painting and

showing as an Associate Member of the

Blue Mountain Gallery in NYC. Their three

kids and their nice spouses have provided

six captivating grandchildren. “We’ve

reached the stage (in our late 80s) of hiring

others to help with house remediation

and garden tending while we fume at the

government and catch up with our reading.”

CLASS OF 1952

CHUCK SCHWARTZ is looking forward to

attending his 70th reunion in 2022. “Sure

looking forward to seeing my ’52 co-grads,

plus those that graduated from my beloved

Solebury a few years before and after 1952.

During that reunion, others will say, ’sure

wish I was a part of those fabulous fun

loving Soleburyites!’”

CLASS OF 1961

SANDRA MASON (COGGESHALL) DICKSON

has published a new book, Mary Townsend

Mason: Reflecting an American Artist’s Era,

a biography of her Philadelphia artist

grandmother (1886-1964) that is illustrated

by forty years of hand-designed Christmas

cards. Sandra is working on the sequel to

her first book, An Island for Sam, about her

daughter’s pony on Monhegan Island. She

also teaches drawing to teens and adults.

CLASS OF 1963

BARBARA WINSLOW, DAN COHEN, LAURIE

KENNEDY & JEREMY FERGUSSON met up for

lunchtime reunion in NYC late last year.

CLASS OF 1964

ROB EMLEN has retired as University

Curator and Senior Lecturer in American

Studies at Brown University. His new book

Imagining the Shakers: How the Visual

Culture of Shaker Life was Pictured in the

Popular Illustrated Press of Nineteenth-

Century America has been published by the

Richard W. Couper Press.

CLASS OF 1968

Since leaving VOSS Water of Norway, KEN

GILBERT is semi-retired, but still working

30-40 hours a week. He continues his work

as board chair of WELLTH, a consumer

products goods company whose mission

is to fund and incubate early stage brands

in the health and wellness category. He

also sits on the board of Wendy’s, which

keeps him involved in the larger corporate

world. What Ken is most excited about

is a spirit startup that is due to launch in

the first quarter of 2020. The name of the

brand is Sephina and it’s based on the life

of Josephine Baker. His work with this

new product has required several trips to

Cognac, France, where he happened to be

for the 2018 World Cup Final (which France

won); “the celebration in a small French

town of less than 19 thousand citizens was

quite amazing. Travel in Europe takes on

a different feeling when the destination is

frequent and involves work.”

CLASS OF 1972

EDEN CROSS has moved to Cuenca, Ecuador.

CLASS OF 1973

DAVID “MOJO” RYNERSON ’73 and his

wife Barbara are now teaching in their

fourth continent, at the American

International School of Johannesburg

(South Africa). The school is very diverse

and multicultural, and the kids are willing

learners and positive members of the

school community. “Solebury has left

an indelible stamp on my teaching and

learning. Here, I am reminded of Solebury,

a place where people from all over the

world share a common spirit and come

together to communicate and collaborate.”

When not teaching, they are traveling in

South Africa where they have seen some

moving tributes to the end of Apartheid,

as well as some big animals and some

beautiful old vineyards.


WWW.SOLEBURY.ORG 27

ALMA’S UPDATE

ANDREW GESPASS announced the birth of

his granddaughter, Eve Norma Lawrence,

born on February 6.

CLASS OF 1976

MADELINE “MAIDA” SUNLEY held an Open

Studio in December 2019 for her series of oil

paintings “Ten Thousand Year Mystery,” about

long-term communication. On April 3, 2020,

she’ll be speaking at the Columbia Astronomy

Public Outreach Lecture Series on “Art and

Time: Axial Precession, Archaeastronomy,

and marking a desert nuclear waste site for

the next ten millennia.” She’d love to see some

other Solebury alumni at her talk, which is free

and open to the public. IG madeline_sunley

madelinesunley.com

CLASS OF 1991

DAVID BLACKFORD and CHRIS LAKER met up in

California and attended a Fishbone/Parliament

show together at the Hollywood Bowl.

CLASS OF 1994

JAN HARTSCHEN studied medicine and

dentistry in Bonn, Germany, spending some

time in the States for his radiology and

inner medicine rotations and qualifying as

a cranio-maxillo-facial surgeon in 2010. Jan

is currently self-employed in his home-town

of Rheinbach. He and his wife Stefanie have

two children, Vincent and Sophie. Jan says

“thanks to the Solebury community for the

great impact on my life!”

CLASS OF 2003

JOSH PERLSWEIG and his wife Natalie

welcomed their daughter in January.

Adelaide was born on the 8th, and joins

older brother Sam. Josh notes, “Sam

is totally obsessed with his baby sister,

hopefully that holds up!”

CLASS OF 2004

CAITLIN (MCGINNIS) DECERCHIO and her

wife Laura DeCerchio welcomed their baby,

James (Jay) Vincent DeCerchio on August

24, 2019.

MATTHEW PICCIRILLI and his wife Jade

welcomed their second child, Rowan Lily,

in November.

CLASS OF 2005

WILL MULLIN coordinated a food drive

with Solebury School in the fall. Over 100

turkeys and food baskets were distributed

to students at West Philadelphia High

School and community members who

experience food insecurity.

CLASS OF 2007 AND 2008

RUSSELL WITTE and EMILY MEERA DOWNS

were engaged during a visit to Joshua Tree

last summer. They are planning a wedding

for this fall and will move from Philadelphia

to New Hope later this year.

CLASS OF 2009

SEBASTIAN DOWNS returned to Solebury

School, leading our Rock Climbing Activity

this fall. He continues his work with green

home renovations and plans to develop a

sketch comedy show later this year.

CLASS OF 2011

BRETT GLAUSER is performing in

Washington DC in The Newsies.

JAMES BOOTH moved to Los Angeles in

August, as did classmate Evan Asoudegan.

His band, James Booth and the Return,

often plays at the famed Whiskey A Go Go

and other storied venues.

CLASS OF 2012

BEATRICE BECETTE graduated from

American University in 2016, majoring

in Film and Media Arts and minoring

in Creative Writing and Marketing. She

currently lives in Washington, DC and

writes, produces, edits, and develops

content for National Geographic TV. She

also hosts a Nat Geo Kids educational

series called Kids vs Plastic. When she’s

not working, she sings with an all-female a

cappella group called The District.


ALMA’S UPDATE

JAMAL CORBIN married Brittney Davis in

Towson, Maryland this December. Their

ceremony and reception were attended

by Solebury faculty Tom and Rebecca

Wilschutz in addition to Matt Baron.

DANIEL PAULSON graduated from Delaware

Valley University in May 2019.

CLASS OF 2013

MICHAEL HALL starred in Newtown Arts

Company’s production A Funny Thing

Happened on the Way to the Forum last

April. He also successfully completed an

internship at Disney after his graduation

from Muhlenberg in 2018.

CLASS OF 2014

ALLIYAH ALLEN is Program Coordinator

for New Arts Justice, an incubator for art

and activism housed at Express Newark

at Rutgers University-Newark. She

graduated from Haverford College in 2018

with a BA in Religion with a concentration

in Africana Studies.

CLASS OF 2015

HALEY HUXLEY graduated from the

University of Hartford in May with a degree

in Musical Theater.

MILO LUCIANO has continued to pursue

basketball since his time at Solebury School.

After playing at Indiana University of

Pennsylvania (IUP), he began his career in

player development, working under Joerik

Michiels at Elite Athletes in Belgium—the

top skills academy in Western Europe. He

then returned to IUP during the 2018-2019

season, where he worked with players both

individually and in small groups during the

preseason and offseason. Over the summer

of 2019, Milo worked under skills trainer

Jordan Lawley at Jordan Lawley Basketball

in Irvine, CA, with both youth and pro

players. Currently, Milo serves as the Head of

Player Development and Assistant Coach at

St. Thomas More School in Oakdale, CT.

MATT LUDAK graduated from Drew

University with a BA in History and English

and was recognized for his outstanding

GPA by being awarded a Baldwin Honors

Scholar. He is now living in Thailand

working for the Peace Corps.

CLASS OF 2019

Assistant Director of Admissions Jordan

Reed met up with JOHANNA KARBANOVA

and MARTIN KROB while on his Admissions

tour in the Czech Republic this fall.

OBITUARIES

Paul Matthews ’50

Paul Clement Matthews II, an artist and

writer based in Lambertville, NJ and Keene,

NY, whose paintings were shown at galleries

and museums in New York, New Jersey,

Pennsylvania and elsewhere, died January

15, 2019 in Hamilton, NJ, where he had been

hospitalized with a chronic lung disease.

He was 85.

Matthews’ work ranged from portraits and

nudes done in a meticulous, realistic style, to

majestic landscapes and cloudscapes of the

Adirondack high peaks, to darker, dreamlike

scenes that reflected a surreal inner world.

Matthews’ work was honored with a 2011

retrospective at the Trenton City Museum

at Ellarslie, as well as a one-person show in

2003 at Trenton’s New Jersey State Museum.

He is also well-represented in the Adirondack

Experience museum in Blue Mountain Lake,

NY, after years as one of the region’s bestknown

landscape painters.

Born in Princeton, NJ on October 28,

1933 to Thomas Stanley Matthews and

Juliana Stevens Cuyler as the third of

four sons, Matthews was named for his

grandfather, who served as the fifth bishop

of the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey. He

attended Kenyon College in Ohio. After a

two-year stint in the Army from 1955-57,

Matthews graduated in 1960 from the Cooper

Union for the Advancement of Science and

Art in New York City, where he shared first

prize in painting with Jerome Witkin.

Matthews was predeceased by two of his

three brothers, Thomas S. Matthews Jr.

and John P.C. Matthews. He is survived by

his wife Lelia, his brother W. Alexander

“Sandy” P. Matthews; four children: Thomas

of Lambertville, NJ; Harry of Catskill, NY;

Hyla Matthews Heyniger ’86 of Washington

D.C.; and Joshua of Brooklyn, NY; a foster

daughter, G. Addie Andino of New Hope, PA,

and six grandchildren.

Nicholas Orrick ’53

Nick Orrick, longtime warden of Andover

Village Improvement Society’s Deer Jump

Reservation (a 125-year-old conservation

organization), died Saturday, May 11,

following a yearlong struggle with a

neurological disorder. He was 83. Orrick

and his family lived by the Merrimack

River, a setting that suited their love of the

outdoors, including canoeing, hiking, and

skiing. Orrick became an outdoorsman by

chance. Born Nicholas Boykin Orrick in New

York City, he was the child of an architect

father and a fashion designer mother. As

a youngster, he assumed the entire earth

beneath Manhattan was concrete, sewer or

subway. But when he was old enough, he took

the train to an overnight summer camp in

Maine, where he was introduced to canoeing,

taking overnight trips on the Penobscot,

Piscataquis, Kennebec, and Saco rivers —

waters he would return to for years.

Nick graduated from Solebury School in 1953

and went on to Harvard, graduating in 1957

with a degree in Mathematics. He worked

as an aerospace engineer for AVCO and

several Department of Defense contractors

at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratories in Lexington,

specializing in radar. Nick and his wife Joan,

a registered nurse, married in 1968. Orrick

was preceded in death by a sister, Martha,

and is survived by sister Sarah Orrick; wife

Joan; son Dave; daughter Jennifer Carter;

three grandchildren; and two nephews.

Non-Profit Org.

U.S. Postage

PAID

Bellmawr, NJ

Permit No. 280


New Hope, PA 18938-9682

Address service requested

GI VI NG DAY

SAVE THE DATE

Young Artist Series Concert........ April 3

Reunion Weekend................... May 1-3

Graduation............................... June 6

Thank You!

For all events, please visit solebury.org.

#LoveSolebury

Winter/Spring 2020 Magazine

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